Capirossi confident Suzuki will suit him

The Italian veteran struggled to adapt to Ducati's 800cc bike, and could only manage one victory while his teammate Casey Stoner swept to a dominant championship victory.

But after his first tests with his new team, Capirossi believes the Suzuki GSV-R is more suited to his riding style.

"I felt good with it since the beginning," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "The Ducati is an extreme bike, while the Suzuki is a lot easier to handle.

"I can't wait to try out the new engine: they've told me it's really strong."

He admitted that a move was necessary after his troubled 2007 season.

"I come from a very difficult 2007 so I had to change to find again the motivation," Capirossi said.

"The will is the same as when I was a boy. The objective is to be quick and competitive again in every race. And then, at the end of 2008, I will figure out what I want to do when I grow up."

Capirossi said he understood why Ducati had put their backing behind Stoner.

"Ducati built a great bike but it wasn't for me. With the 990cc from the previous years I felt well. With the 800cc, instead, I struggled a lot," he said.

"They worked 100 per cent for Casey, but it's normal to follow the winning rider more.

"I would have needed some evolutions, they did something mid-season but with no results.

"If Stoner wasn't around I'm certain that in the end I would have got the bike I wanted. But I understand them, in their place I would have done the same."

After five seasons with Italian team Ducati, Capirossi admitted that working with Suzuki had felt strange at first.

"The first day as a Suzuki rider was a bit strange," he said. "Ducati was home for me and with the technicians we'd speak almost the same dialect.

"Here they are all English (speakers) and there's a different atmosphere. Thankfully I do OK with the language and I like their working method. They have put themselves completely at my disposal. We'll do some good things together."