Suzuki duo lament poor conditions

With first practice taking place on a wet track, and conditions dry but cold in the afternoon, the pair never really got totally to grips with their GSV-R bikes.

Capirossi, who ended the day 11th fastest overall, said: "It's been really hard today, because this morning we didn't really learn anything because the track was very bad due to the weather. We used slick tyres this afternoon but the conditions were still really poor, it was very cold and we just couldn't find the best solution.

"We have worked a lot on the settings and did make some progress at the end of the day, so now we have a very good opportunity to go really well tomorrow."

Vermeulen added: "We had a bit of everything today condition wise. It started out wet this morning but dried out quite a lot, but not enough to go out on slick tyres so we finished the session on wets.

"We were riding around on a half dry track so it was very slippery, but it was fun and we were able to see how a wet tyre would perform in a race if it started out wet and then dried up. This afternoon it hadn't rained but there were still some small wet patches because there had been so much rain.

"The track was mostly dry and with it being so cold it was difficult to get heat in the tyres, but eventually we got the bike working quite well and made some big steps. We have some more things to try tomorrow and hopefully they will keep us heading in the right direction."