Kawasaki Moto GP - Donington

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Donington Park
Date: 17/06/2008




HOPKINS HEADS FOR SECOND HOME RACE
Kawasaki's John Hopkins and Anthony West head across the English Channel for this weekend's British Grand Prix at Donington Park in confident mood, following successful test sessions aboard their Ninja ZX-RR machines in Spain and Japan.

For Anglo-American Hopkins, the British Grand Prix is like a second home race, and the 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot heads for Donington determined to put on a virtuoso performance in front of the enthusiastic British crowd.

Hopkins is recovering well from the fractured vertebrae he sustained in a practice crash last time out in Catalunya. Although the injury is still causing him some discomfort, he remains confident that he'll be able to secure a strong result this weekend in front of his family, many of whom have made the trip over from California for the British Grand Prix.

Anthony West made his competitive MotoGP debut with the Kawasaki Racing Team in a wet race at Donington Park last season, and the 26-year-old Australian is looking forward to making his return to the United Kingdom this weekend.

Catalunya proved something of a turning point for West this season, and following a positive testing trip to Japan after the last race, the Kawasaki pilot arrives at Donington determined to battle his way back into the top ten.

The Donington Park circuit is one that punishes mistakes. The fast and flowing nature of the first part of the track, where all the corners run together, means that it's difficult to make up the time lost to a mistake, as the wrong line through one corner invariably upsets a rider's rhythm through the next series of turns. Accuracy and consistency are both key to a good result in the British Grand Prix.



Hopkins
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
"Following the Catalunya race we had a one day test where I rode as many laps as I could with the back injury I sustained in practice. This brought a few positive results before I headed over to England where I've spent time visiting family and friends with Ashleigh. In the lead up to the last two races I had been training very hard so thankfully I haven't lost any fitness, which is always a problem when carrying injuries, and I've had the chance to rest to help the healing process. I'm still very stiff and sore, but Donington Park is like a home away from home, and it's a track I definitely enjoy. For me the British Grand Prix is one of the biggest races of the season, with many members of my family coming to support me, and regardless of my injury I'll be looking to gain a strong result aboard the Kawasaki."


West
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"After Catalunya I flew to Japan to complete two days intensive testing. Unfortunately the first day was rained off, but we managed to get quite a few laps in on day two and the results were positive. We focussed particularly on changing the engine settings to improve the overall handling of the machine and we found a set-up direction that's very different from what I'm used to. The bike felt really good, but the track had a lot more grip in comparison to those we race on in MotoGP, so the real test for the changes we've made will be this weekend at Donington Park. Last year we gained a strong result during my first outing on the Ninja ZX-RR and I hope that with the work we've done in the last week, we can be back where we belong in the top ten."

[Big Al Glynn]

This is the first of the tracks this year where West previously rode the MotoGP bike on or so I believe. Here's hoping for a better result. Being the British GP there is a fair chance of rain, which means an even better result for The Ant .
I would love to see Silverstone back as the British GP, with the full 150mph Abbey Curve, not the toned down bullshit they raced in WSB.......

[Blurr]

but the track had a lot more grip in comparison to those we race on in MotoGP,

why does it sound like he's covering his arse .....just in case

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Donington Park
Date: 20/06/2008



FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS FOR HOPKINS AND WEST
Kawasaki’s John Hopkins and Anthony West finished today’s opening practice sessions at Donington Park in a confident mood, after improvements to their machine set-up saw them finish in 11th and 12th positions respectively.

Hopkins bravely ended the day’s proceedings just a fraction of a second outside of the top ten, despite suffering from the discomfort of a back injury sustained in practice at Catalunya. The 25-year-old Anglo-American wisely used today’s dry track time to run through various Bridgestone race tyre combinations ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session, which is predicted to be wet.

Hopkins remains confident that, with the progress made during the post-race test in Spain, and the successful practice sessions today, he can qualify well at the 4.023km Donington Park circuit tomorrow with just minor adjustments to the chassis of his Ninja ZX-RR.

West completed the day just over two tenths of a second behind his teammate in a promising 12th position. Following a recent test in Japan, the Australian has altered the settings of his Kawasaki, which has significantly improved the stability and rear traction of his race machine on corner exit.

The 26-year-old Kawasaki pilot is aware that there is still further progress to be made, but already West feels more confident after the two hour-long sessions today, and is aiming for a return to the top ten in qualifying.



Hopkins
#21 - 11th - 1'29.441
“This circuit is quite demanding and it’s pretty tough on my back injury. I’m having trouble lifting my leg and shifting through the gears in the tight, quick changes of direction. It’s a fight, but we’re working through it and the bike feels really good. We’ve got a few areas to improve on the chassis, but the post-race test at Catalunya has definitely proven positive. We ran through different tyre options today to see what would be a good race tyre in the dry, as the weather is quite unpredictable and we’re not sure what the conditions will be like tomorrow. We have a few changes to make to the machine overnight, but I’m confident we can step it up a gear and we’ll be working hard to qualify well here.”


West
#13 - 12th - 1'29.666
“Finally I can say that we’ve managed to make a real step forward with the rear traction problems we have suffered with for so long. The recent test in Japan was positive and this has been proven on the track today, as we’re not so far off the pace. The setting we have found does mean the bike now wheelies more, however this is much easier to deal with than not being able to exit the turns. We still need to improve the first part of corner exit, but the rear is gripping much better and driving forward out of the turns rather than spinning so much, which means it feels a lot more controllable and stable than previously. I hope that this improvement can be reflected on qualifying rubber tomorrow, and although there is still a lot of work to do, I feel confident that we are heading in the right direction.”



Kawasaki Technical Manager
“Both riders have made improvements in testing recently but there is still a lot of work to do. With John we need to work on the set-up of the front-end of his bike so he has more confidence going into the turns, whereas with Anthony we need to further improve the rear traction of his machine during corner exit. We have made steps forward, and John is working hard despite suffering from an injury, but if we are to be competitive we still need to significantly reduce the time gap between us and the top of the time sheets.”



1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'28.253; 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.576; 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.656; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.716; 5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.739; 6. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.954; 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.954; 8. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.088; 9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.157; 10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +1.180; 11. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.188; 12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.413

[mfzx6r]

Go boys !!!!! we can only hope !!!

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Donington Park
Date: 21/06/2008



THIRD ROW FOR WET WEATHER WEST
Kawasaki's Anthony West will start tomorrow's British Grand Prix from the third row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in seventh position during this afternoon's rain soaked timed session at Donington Park.

The slippery conditions at the 4.023km track caught out many leading riders during the two, hour-long sessions today, although following the developments made in yesterday's dry practice, West managed to find a good set-up aboard his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR.

The 26-year-old looked set for a front row start after lapping quickly and consistently around the notoriously unforgiving circuit in qualifying, but the Australian rider lost out as his main rivals took advantage of Bridgestone's softer compound wet tyre, an option that wasn't possible for West to use due to limited availability.

West eventually finished in seventh position as the highest placed qualifier on Bridgestone's harder compound rear rubber. The Kawasaki pilot feels confident that he has a good race pace in both the wet or dry, and he is looking forward to fighting for positions at the front of the field during tomorrow's 30-lap race.

John Hopkins, who is still suffering from the back injury sustained in Catalunya, cautiously lapped the Leicestershire circuit in qualifying after a minor crash at turn seven during this morning's practice.

The Anglo-American concentrated on refining his machine set-up and was careful to avoid aggravating his already painful injury in the particularly greasy conditions. Hopkins will make some adjustments overnight to his Ninja ZX-RR, but the 25-year-old is reasonably happy with his machine set-up and will be looking for a strong result during the race.

The weather forecast is for showers during tomorrow's warm-up session at Donington Park, but with the rain scheduled to clear in time for the race, which gets underway at 15.00 local time.




West
#13 - 7th - 1'39.995
"It's great to be back in the top ten and fighting for decent positions. The bike is working well and we have a good pace in both the wet and dry. The track was very slippery and we were top three for a lot of the session, but we weren't allocated a soft tyre for my final run, which meant some of the other riders had an advantage. I'm feeling confident for tomorrow; we're not going to make many major changes to the machine, although there are some areas in the turns where we need to improve the rear traction of the bike. I am pleased with how things are going, as we're moving forwards, and I hope we can finally gain a strong result in the race."


Hopkins
#21 - 11th - 1'40.539
"The conditions were really tough out there because the track was incredibly slippery. The bike and Bridgestone tyres were both working really well, but I had a crash this morning and to be honest, with the back injury I have, I've been riding quite tentatively this afternoon. I know we are capable of more, but I'm feeling pretty confident with our race setting whatever the weather tomorrow. We have some improvements to make overnight, but we just need to get a good start and then aim for the leading group."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"Anthony did a good job today and he made the best of what he had. He was lapping consistently with no mistakes and he will start the race from a reasonably strong grid position. The conditions out on track weren't ideal, but I believe we have a good machine set-up in both the wet and dry. John is suffering somewhat with his injury and the crash this morning certainly didn't help things, but his race pace isn't so bad and we will analyse the areas that we need to improve overnight. For tomorrow we can only hope that it is either wet or dry for the race rather than mixed conditions, which can make setting up the machine more complicated."



1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'38.232; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.649; 3. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.786; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +1.038; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.369; 6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +1.551; 7. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.763; 8. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +2.012; 9. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +2.118; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +2.185; 11. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.307

[Makybe05]

Hopefully there is more of this to come for West

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Donington Park
Date: 22/06/2008


TOP TEN AT DONINGTON MARKS RETURN TO FORM FOR WEST
Kawasaki's Anthony West stormed to his first top ten finish of the season in today's British Grand Prix at Donington Park, after finally overcoming the traction problems that have plagued him since the beginning of the season.

West, who qualified in seventh position on the grid in the wet yesterday, rode superbly aboard his Bridgestone-shod machine, lapping consistently throughout the 30-lap race around the 4.023km circuit. The Kawasaki pilot came under pressure late on in the race, but was able to up his pace sufficiently to retain tenth place at the chequered flag.

West is now looking forward to Assen, one of his more favoured circuits, as upgrades to his race machine should further assist his quest to get a season that's been hampered by problems well and truly back on track.

John Hopkins was left frustrated today, as a technical issue with his Ninja ZX-RR forced him out of the race on lap seventeen, but it was an eventful race for the Kawasaki pilot even before this problem brought it to a premature end.

After a good start from 11th place on the grid, the Anglo-American was baulked at turn one, Redgate Corner, when James Toseland highsided out of contention right in front of him and Hopkins had to take evasive action to avoid the Briton's fallen machine. The gritty 25-year-old, who is still carrying a back injury sustained at Catalunya, fought his way up to tenth position, just ahead of his teammate, before being sidelined by an electrical fault on his Ninja ZX-RR.

While Kawasaki's engineers investigate the cause of the problem, Hopkins is looking to make amends in the Dutch TT at Assen, which takes place in just six days time.



West
#13 - 10th Position
"This result shows exactly what we are capable of and I hope it will only get better from here. The bike finally feels rideable, and I was able to push right up until the end of the race, so I'm really pleased with a top ten finish. We've made a massive step forward and I feel so much more confident in the wet or dry than I have done previously. In the closing stages I came under quite a lot of pressure from Toni Elias and Randy de Puniet, but I was able to respond and maintain a good lap time throughout. The machine set-up felt good, as did the Bridgestone tyres, and although there are many more improvements to be made, I really believe we can work on these. The next round at Assen is one of my more favoured tracks so I'm really looking forward to racing there."


Hopkins
#21 - DNF
"It's difficult to express how frustrated I feel after today's race. I got away from the start pretty well, but then Toseland highsided right in front of me exiting the first turn and, while he slid off the track, I had to brake almost to a standstill to avoid his bike. This left me dead last on the opening lap, but I got my head down and fought my way back through the field, eventually passing Anthony to take tenth position. I think it was possible to close the gap on the group ahead of me, but then the bike just stopped at the Old Hairpin. Obviously we need to figure out what caused the problem, but with the next race less than one week away I don't want to dwell on what went wrong today but, rather, look forward to making amends next weekend in Assen."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"I am very happy for Anthony because he has ridden well in both the wet and dry conditions throughout the weekend. This proves that as a team we were right to stick by him. I have always believed we made a good choice in Anthony, and today he was able to ride a solid race to achieve our aim of a top ten finish. Today has been disappointing for John, as he has worked so hard whilst carrying a back injury. He fought to a good position before being ruled out of the race due to a technical issue. This problem is now under investigation and we will look to resolve it, wherever the trouble lies."



1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 44'44.982; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +5.789; 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +8.347; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +12.678; 5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +14.801; 6. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +15.690; 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +18.196; 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +21.666; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +29.354; 10. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +41.030; DNF. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +14 Laps