Suzuki determined to atone for Qatar

During winter testing Suzuki had been the closest challenger to Ducati and Yamaha, so had high hopes for Losail. But both riders struggled with the bike's handling on race day, with Loris Capirossi crashing out and Chris Vermeulen only managing a distant seventh.

Capirossi - who took three straight Motegi wins with Ducati between 2005 and 2007 - is confident that he can make up for the Qatar disappointment in Japan.

"After what happened in Qatar, we now go to a track that I know well and have had lots of good times at," he said.

"I was very disappointed at Losail but that race has gone now and we have had time to see what happened.

"I hope I can have a very good result in Japan for the Suzuki guys that have put in all the hard work in the winter to give us a bike that we can now be competitive on. I have won here before and want to do it again, so I will be making sure we get everything right for race day to give us the best possible chance of achieving that."

Vermeulen said he remained optimistic because until the race night slump, Suzuki had been on the pace at Losail.

"It is really important to get back on the bike as soon as possible and try to rectify the issues we had in the race in Qatar," said Vermeulen.

"The bike was working well all weekend, but it seemed to feel very different in the race. The factory has been working hard since then and there will be a lot of extra staff at the race in Motegi so we won't be short of a helping hand.

"I am looking forward to going there as I really enjoy racing in Japan and will be doing my best to get the bike on the podium."