Capirossi Crash Fails To Crush Suzuki Spirit

The Sunday Age

Sunday October 5, 2008

Martin Boulton

MotoGP teams have the resources to overcome last-minute setbacks, writes Martin Boulton.

AS LORIS Capirossi was skidding helplessly across the grass in yesterday's practice session, his Suzuki team was swinging into action.

Qualifying was three hours away and his mangled, grass and mud-covered motorcycle had to be ready.

Suzuki operations manager Howard Plumpton, a veteran of the team, helped recover and dispatch the bike to the support paddock.

"He needs two motorcycles for the afternoon session," Plumpton said. "We've got such a short gap to rebuild it ... It has to be stripped back to the basic motorcycle and rebuilt. It will be done."

Plumpton later described Capirossi's spill on turn four as "the worst thing that could happen".

In his 19years with the Suzuki team Plumpton has celebrated world championships and learnt to live most of the year away from his home in Mudeford, England.

"Last year I spent 265 days on tour, you have to make a lot of sacrifices," he told The Sunday Age. "We work with fantastic sports people, meet fantastic people around the world, but it's not everybody's cup of tea."

Like most teams in the MotoGP tour Suzuki has an enormous support crew - on tour and working in research and development.

"We (the teams on tour) are basically a circus, we move from venue to venue, put up our big top and perform. It's not a job, it's a way of life."

The "way of life" for three hours yesterday focused on rebuilding Capirossi's chances of a podium finish in today's race.

While the bike was being stripped and rebuilt, Plumpton worked with other mechanics, technicians, the crew chief and parts manager on the second bike.

"In normal circumstances we send him (Capirossi) out with one motorcycle, he comes back and quickly tells us what he likes and dislikes.

"While we're making the changes we send him out on the second motorcycle.

"We're constantly doing this leap-frogging until we get to a stage where we've got a motorcycle he likes.

"The sooner that happens the better, but we can be making changes all the way up until the warm-up."

When Plumpton joined Suzuki the crews were half the size

"We've always taken racing seriously, but it is more complicated now, technology has moved on so much (and) we have far more people on tour.

Capirossi and fellow rider Chris Vermeulen have as many as 25 people working in pit lane this weekend.

It's a far cry from when Plumpton ran away to join the MotoGP circus.

"Some of the old guys, people like Kevin Schwantz, what they could do with a bike was unbelievable (and) the bike was a lot more basic."

Capirossi's crew chief, Stuart Shenton, is another who's spent years with Suzuki and dedicated his working life to MotoGP teams.

"That's all he's ever done, racing," Plumpton said. "He started with Kawasaki, then went to Honda and he's had years with us.

"Fortunately we don't have a large turnover of staff and riders tend to stay a long time. We've had a couple of world champions ... it's a good team."

He laughs when he thinks back on the days when Schwantz would make his crew dinner after a late night.

"Can you see a formula one driver coming over and making tea for his boys? There's no ego, that's what bike racing is about."

Asked if riders and teams needed to be in sync to succeed, Plumpton smiled. "Together we're like a massive hi-fi system and our riders are our speakers," he said. "They're trying to make us sound great, so it's very much a team effort."

Three hours after his crash, Capirossi was back on song in the qualifying session and will start 11th on the grid.

© 2008 The Sunday Age

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