The MotoGP continues, this time with a rumor that’s not about one of the four alien riders. MotoGP veteran Loris Capirossi has long been the rider behind the development of the Suzuki GSV-R in MotoGP, but that hasn’t stopped the lens of paddock gossips from pointing Capirex towards the direction of a satellite Ducati team. More specifically, Capirossi has been linked to talking to the Pramac Ducati team about a seat on a satellite Ducati for 2011.
Should the rumor pan out to be true, Suzuki would find itself in a very difficult position. The Rizla Suzuki team, while still considered a factory team, hardly has the competitive edge to race with the other three top manufacturers, and its Suzuki GSV-R still has a long ways to go in its development process before it can compete at a true factory level.
As such, Suzuki needs a talented development rider to be a part of its program, a title that the young Bautista cannot claim on his resume. With other famed development riders like Colin Edwards not likely to jump ship, Suzuki has a lot at stake by losing Capirossi, who is a linchpin in their program right now.
Carlo Pernat, Loris Capirossi’s manger, told Italian TV station Italia 1 that he’s been talking with Pramac Ducati about Capirex, and that he has already contacted Ducati management in Borgo Panigale about having Capirossi return to a Ducati again.
Whether that’s a true sentiment, or a carefully calculated ploy to get more money out of Suzuki remains to be seen. It should be noted that Capirossi sits behind both Pramac Ducati riders in the point standings at the time of this article.
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