Brivio says Suzuki have not yet started rider negotiations

Suzuki MotoGP Test Team manager Davide Brivio has given motogp.com an update on the manufacturer’s ongoing project, stating the factory do not yet have agreements in place with any rider for MotoGP™ next year.

Recent media speculation has linked Dani Pedrosa with a potential 2015 Suzuki ride and although Pedrosa’s HRC contract expires at the end of the season, Brivio would not confirm or deny interest in signing the Spaniard.

Brivio commented, “We still do not have any agreement with any rider and we don’t yet have a clear idea on who our future riders will be. Obviously we are talking, considering our various options, making contact with agents to see what the riders’ contract situations are and weighing up the interest in riding our bike.”

He continued, “Regarding Pedrosa we would have to find out if he is interested. We are currently not negotiating with anyone. Perhaps things will start to get moving in the coming weeks. It will be hard to get a top rider and we want the very strongest possible riders, but we will have to see who is up for the challenge and who wants to ride for us. It’s difficult to state names at this stage.”

The Italian manager went on to add, “Randy de Puniet is one of the candidates. The fact that he will have been working with us for two years could be a plus. We have not guaranteed anything to Randy but he is on our list of candidates.”

The coming months will see Suzuki continue their preparations as they seek to return to full time Grand Prix participation for 2015. Following their recent test at the Circuit of the Americas, Suzuki are also set to test at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), Phillip Island and Barcelona-Catalunya in the coming weeks, with Brivio confirming that they aim to test at Mugello and Aragon later in the year.

Suzuki have not yet officially confirmed whether a potential test with rider Eugene Laverty will happen, though it is possible that with the approval of his Superbike team and at the request of Bridgestone he will ride the Suzuki XRH-1 in Japan and Australia in order to test tyre durability.

Bridgestone to develop until end of 2015

Bridgestone insists that it will continue to develop more ‘state-of-the-art’ technologies right through to the end of its tenure in MotoGP™ at the end of 2015.

Before last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Bridgestone – the sole tyre supplier of the MotoGP™ class since 2009 – announced that it has extended its contract for 2015, but that it would then pull out of the sport at the end of the campaign. However, the Japanese manufacturer stresses that it will not calm its development pace until then.

“We will still continue to develop new technologies, as we want to leave the championship at the end of next season in the best way possible,” explains Bridgestone’s Masao Azuma.

“It is in our interest to keep our development programme going strong right until the end of our tenure in MotoGP™, as there is still a lot for us to learn that we can then migrate to our range of motorcycle road tyres. We are currently developing new advances in technology, particularly for the front tyre, that we will be providing to teams for testing purposes in the coming months.

“People can expect to see some state-of-the-art tyre technology being introduced to the MotoGP™ World Championship over the next 18 months.”

With Bridgestone having announced its exit at the end of 2015, a tender has now gone out for a new tyre supplier. This tender will close on Thursday 22 May.

Arm pump surgery for Bradl in Germany

Stefan Bradl has become the second MotoGP™ rider this week to undergo surgery for arm pump. The LCR Honda MotoGP pilot underwent the operation in Germany, having begun to be affected during the Spanish Grand Prix.

It was approximately five laps into Sunday’s race at Jerez when Bradl started to suffer the strain in his right arm. As German publication Speedweek reports, the 2011 Moto2™ World Champion was therefore operated on at 8am on Wednesday morning, with the procedure being carried out by Dr. Wolfgang Streifinger at a hospital in Wertingen, near Augsberg in the State of Bavaria.

It is also being reported that Bradl’s participation in the upcoming French Grand Prix at Le Mans is not under threat, with the operation having taken just 15 minutes. Bradl had undergone the same surgery in Barcelona with Dr. Xavier Mir in November 2012.

“First of all, I wish to thank Doctor Streifinger and his staff,” Bradl comments on Wednesday afternoon. “We have known each other since 2010, when he operated on me for the first time. After the arm pump problems I suffered in Jerez, we decided to treat the right forearm again and the operation was very quick: only 15 minutes. Now I am starting my recovery programme to be fit for the forthcoming GP in Le Mans.”

Dani Pedrosa is the other rider to have been operated on this week, also involving the right forearm. In the case of the Spanish rider, the procedure was carried out on Tuesday by Dr. Xavier Mir at the Quiron Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona