On the opening day of the official MotoGP test at Jerez, John Hopkins took the surprising Suzuki machine to the top of the time charts. It is beginning to look like Suzuki has made the biggest step forward in off-season development, and, with Hopkins at least, is ready to challenge for podiums when the season starts in a couple of weeks.
Everything seems to be coming together for Suzuki including the Bridgestone tires (Hopkins claims the Bridgestone race tires are outstanding, and his lap times back this up). Teammate and former World champ Kenny Roberts was a bit off the pace today while testing settings, and not going for a fast lap.
