Zoom Loris Capirossi

One of several MotoGP riders in attendance at the 2007 Bologna Motor Show, Loris Capirossi this weekend gave a summary of his thoughts on the season just finished and enthusiastically looked ahead to the new chapter of his career with Rizla Suzuki next year.

Speaking at the annual event's traditional press conference, organised by Italian newspaper ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport', Capirossi said of his 2007 campaign: "I struggled a lot with the switch from 990cc to 800cc. With the 990cc, there was so much torque and power, it was easy to make it slide and use the rear to turn on corners."

"With the 800cc, there's virtually no slide and throughout the year I couldn't find a way to corner as efficiently as I wanted. I was often running wide and it was easy for my rivals to overtake me."

"I was finding things difficult while my team-mate Casey Stoner was on top form, winning race after race, so it was logical that the team focussed their efforts on him, or to put it another way, tried to adapt the bike more to his style than to mine."

Despite things not going exactly as he would have hoped over the past 12 months Capirossi remains typically upbeat about 2008 and is excited by the challenge that lies ahead, following his decision to switch teams after five seasons with Ducati.

"I've been in the World Championship for 19 years", stated the popular Italian veteran, "but more than ever, I'm looking forward to all the testing and the start of a new season.”

"I want to show from the very first race that I'm still able to fight for wins. With Suzuki, we are very motivated, we want to beat everybody, and of course that includes the Ducati riders."

"Why did I choose Suzuki? I had a lot of offers, including riding on a Ducati with a satellite team, but with the Suzuki technicians, I had a good feeling. I've already tried an updated bike compared to the machine they raced this season and feel that it really suits my riding style. In January I'll try the brand new bike and I'm very confident about it."

"Leaving Ducati was difficult but not sad, I needed a new motivation and I found it in Suzuki. We have to work on various points to be ready soon. We may have a small advantage from the tyres. Suzuki and Bridgestone have had a great relationship for a while, so that's only a bonus for us."

DORNA / CAPSIS International