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The bike that nearly beat Biaggi, the 2010 vintage GSX-R1000 was an adept machine, making the best of its characteristics, as the Alstare team ended up doing all their own development and tuning work in-house.

On paper the GSX-R was less of a racebike than it showed on track, as the longer stroke 74.5 x 57.3mm engine was treated to a compression ratio of 14.5 to one, up there with the other big hitters. The motor was fed by Keihin injectors and Magneti Marelli Marvel 4 engine management, which controlled fuel mapping, ignition advance and all rider aids. Data acquisition was by Marelli and 2D. New piston design and cam timing were matched to the factory Arrow exhaust this year. The result, power over 215bhp, came in at just under 14,000 rpm. The stock chassis runs a custom swingarm, designed by the team, which was picked out after the winter test programme.

The approach of Alstare was measured and pragmatic, as the latest Öhlins TR25 forks were not used as no time was available to test them and only then back to back with the older TTX25 (with 135mm stroke) forks. The latest RSP40 rear shock was, however, adopted. The Suzuki guys used Nissin brakes in 2010 - and also Brembos. Haslam swapped to Brembo brakes after Monza.

Surprisingly for a racebike the Suzuki has a longer wheelbase in racing trim than its roadbike cousin, simply because of the longer swingarm and headstock offset settings. The new suspension and weight balance were two main points of focus in 2010, rear swingarm rigidity also.