The Italian will be back on track at the Grand Prix of Japan after missing the Aragón round with an injured finger.

Loris Capirossi will make his return to action at Motegi this weekend after a one-race absence due to injury. The veteran Italian will be back on board his GSV-R machine of the Rizla Suzuki team for the Grand Prix of Japan after sitting out the previous round with an injured finger.

Capirossi required surgery on the little finger on his right hand after a crash at Misano and was still recovering when the Aragón round arrived, but he is now more than prepared to push in Round 14 on a track on which he has taken three MotoGP victories.

“My finger is at about 90%, but it is only a finger so I am totally ready for the weekend,” said Capirossi. “I am still having physiotherapy every day to get it better and will continue until the race, so by then it should be okay.”

He continued: “I love Motegi, it is my favourite race track of the year and I have good memories from there. I have won three times and it would be amazing to challenge the front guys – especially as it is a big weekend for Suzuki. I know that it is tough out there, but anything is possible and we have got to keep believing in ourselves.”

On the other side of the Suzuki garage Capirossi’s rookie team-mate Álvaro Bautista also has an impressive pedigree at Motegi. The Spaniard has been on the podium in both the 125cc and 250cc classes and also won last season in the latter of those two categories, but despite this it is not one of the 25 year-old’s preferred tracks.

“Motegi is not one of my favourite circuits, it is a bit too plain and does little to test a rider, it is just a lot of straights and then short corners put together, so it is difficult to get a flowing rhythm,” he said. “I have done quite well there in recent years though so I probably don’t dislike it that much!”

“We still have a lot of work to do on the GSV-R, but we are improving every race and so is my riding. I know I need to qualify better on the Saturday, because this is leaving me a lot of work to do in the race, so that is my first priority this weekend. If I can get on the first couple of rows who knows what might happen in the race.”