Kawasaki Moto GP - Motegi

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Motegi
Date: 22/09/2008



KAWASAKI HEAD FOR THE TWIN RING AND HOME
The Kawasaki Racing Team head for their second home race of the season this weekend, as the MotoGP circus travels to Motegi for the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan, the 15th round of the 2008 world championship.

Opened in 1999, the 4.8km Twin Ring circuit, some 160km north of Tokyo, sits in a rural landscape and, as its name suggests, boasts not one but two tracks: a "super speedway" oval and the longer, snaking "road course", which the premier class teams will be tackling on Sunday.

Kawasaki's history at Motegi is a strong one, with Shinya Nakano taking third place, and Kawasaki's first ever MotoGP podium finish, in his home Grand Prix back in 2004, while Randy de Puniet went one better in 2007 to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in second place.

Anthony West also put in a strong performance last season at the Twin Ring. Starting from sixth position on the grid, the Kawasaki pilot blasted his way to the front to lead the race on lap two, before a ride through penalty relegated him back to 14th position. Undeterred, West fought his way back through the field to finish an impressive seventh.

The 27-year-old Australian raced extensively in Japan aboard 1000cc machines during his younger years, so he knows the circuit better than most. West is hoping that this track knowledge will help him this weekend to overcome the set-up issues that have had such a negative impact on his race results so far this season.

Motegi hasn't been the luckiest of tracks for John Hopkins in recent years, but the 25-year-old Anglo-American is adamant that it is a circuit at which he enjoys racing, and one that will suit well the characteristics of his Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine.

As a result, Hopkins heads for this weekend's Grand Prix of Japan determined to put on a good show for the thousands of Kawasaki fans at the track, most of whom congregate in the grandstand opposite pit lane and whose enthusiastic cheering every time the riders leave the pit box is loud enough to drown out the sound of their Ninja ZX-RR machines!



West
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"Motegi is a track that I know well, because I've done a lot of laps around there in the past. It's a very grippy circuit with an interesting layout. Last year we performed well there, particularly in qualifying, but a small mistake in the race meant we didn't quite achieve the result we were capable of. I know it's not going to be an easy ride for us this weekend, but it's Kawasaki's second home event, so I hope we can gain a strong result. I spent a few days in America after the Indianapolis race before we came over to Japan, and I've been training a lot, so we'll just have to see what the weekend brings."


Hopkins
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
"Motegi has never been a circuit that's been kind to me, as I've always had a lot of bad luck there. Even last year, which was my best season so far, Motegi was definitely my worst round. However, maybe this is the year we can turn it around after all of the bad luck we've had with injury. It's a track I actually enjoy, the fans and atmosphere are all a lot of fun, and the circuit layout is good too. I've been in Japan for a while already and this is Kawasaki's second home round so it would be really nice if we can do well here. We are mainly concentrating on the development of the machine for next year, although it would be great to finish the final few rounds of 2008 with strong results. I've continued to train hard, and I managed to fit in a spot of sight-seeing in around Tokyo in the last week, so I'm now really looking forward to getting on the bike again and racing."

[hoffy]

I cant wait to see the mighty Kawasaki battling for a top 15 spot or even a top 10 spot...Go Boys !!

[penno]

My dad's attending, will be wearing one of the latest KSRC shirts. As a payback he has promised me one of those "My Dad Went To The Motegi MotoGP And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt". Probably be the wrong size.......

[mick_dundee]

I cant wait to see the mighty Kawasaki battling for a top 15 spot or even a top 10 spot...Go Boys !!

16 starters top 15 is a real possibility

[mfzx6r]

And I'll be watching it

on Foxsports 3

Close MotoGP Round 15, Japan 11:45 am - 04:30 pm
Sunday September 28 2008
Genre: Sport Motorsport Rating: Screening Info: Widescreen Show Details: Tune in for some of the all-time great races and possibly the most dramatic of all championships!
Advertisement

[swabio-ACT]

what i want to know... is why don't fox put MOTOGP on HD.... the bastardos' put gay as fark poker...golf and other crap on HD... but no bloody MOTOGP or SBK's!

[2ndclasscitizen]

SBK's don't go HD because FGSport's coverage is shit, not even widescreen, and the MotoGP coverage isn't much better.

[red_dave]

And I'll be watching it

on Foxsports 3

Close MotoGP Round 15, Japan 11:45 am - 04:30 pm
Sunday September 28 2008
Genre: Sport Motorsport Rating: Screening Info: Widescreen Show Details: Tune in for some of the all-time great races and possibly the most dramatic of all championships!
Advertisement

Did you get the foxtel working?

See you next thursday!

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Motegi
Date: 26/09/2008



HOPKINS CONFIDENT OF IMPROVEMENTS AT MOTEGI
Kawasaki's John Hopkins concluded today's free practice sessions at the Motegi circuit, which were held in mixed weather conditions, in confident mood after finishing in 12th position on his upgraded Ninja ZX-RR.

Following this morning's wet practice, Hopkins utilised the dry time this afternoon to evaluate different Bridgestone tyre options from his allocation to find a suitable race tyre for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Anglo-American made an initial evaluation of the upgraded Ninja ZX-RR engine that the team received yesterday, as well as adjusting his chassis set-up to suit the 4.8km circuit.

Hopkins is confident that this new specification engine offers a smoother power delivery, although due to today's low track temperatures and damp conditions, the Kawasaki Racing Team will continue to make an analysis during the race weekend. Hopkins continued to improve his lap time throughout the hour-long afternoon session and ended the day in 12th position after posting a best time of 1'49.197s on his final lap.

The Kawasaki pilot is now hoping to make further refinements to his chassis setting, to improve manoeuvrability into the turns for tomorrow's qualifying session.

Despite improving his lap time throughout the day, Anthony West has suffered with handling problems aboard his Kawasaki race machine. The 27-year-old Australian finished this morning's wet stint in ninth place, but in the later session West struggled with a lack of grip and corner stability, ending the day in 17th position.

The Kawasaki racer will review the data with his crew overnight and is looking to make improvements to his chassis set-up in order to make more of an impact tomorrow around the Motegi track.



Hopkins
#21 - 12th - 1'49.197
"There wasn't much we could do this morning in the wet, especially as the rest of the weekend is predicted to be dry, so we just refined our wet weather set-up. This afternoon the track was still damp in places, but we went out on slick tyres and evaluated all of our different Bridgestone tyre options to find something suitable for the race. We also had a revised specification engine to use and although it's not that different to what we had before, I can already feel that it's quite a bit smoother. The main area we are concentrating on is making improvements to our chassis setting as I'm struggling at a few of the hairpin corners to get the bike to turn and exit comfortably. However, we set our fastest time right at the end of the session on a tyre that had already done a lot of laps, which is positive. We'll make a few changes overnight and we're not that far off the rest of the field, so I'm feeling confident that we can work our way up the time sheets in qualifying."


West
#13 - 17th - 1'50.131
"Conditions at the circuit have been far from ideal today as this morning was wet, but it didn't really dry out totally for the afternoon session. This inconsistency in weather is not making our job any easier, and we need to make some big improvements to move ourselves further up the standings. We're struggling to get the machine into the turns, and we're also suffering with a lack of rear traction on corner exit. It felt slippery out on track, and although we've made quite a lot of changes to the chassis set-up, we haven't really found anything that's made a big enough difference to improve our lap time significantly. We will continue to work overnight with the data we now have and hopefully we can make more of an impression tomorrow."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"This morning we ran through our wet set-up and made some comparisons to the last race at Indianapolis. Then in the later session, although it was still damp, we used a dry setting, as the track was slowly drying out. Both riders came across similar problems with the machine stability and balance on corner entry, which is the main area where we will focus on making improvements for tomorrow. John has used a new specification engine today and although initial results are positive, it's difficult to really arrive at a conclusion as it wasn't completely dry out on track in either of the practice sessions."



1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'48.121; 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.073; 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.389; 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +0.649; 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.658; 6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team +0.673; 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.679; 8. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.824; 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team +0.853; 10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +1.028; 12. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.076; 17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.010

[hoffy]

Looks like another fantastic race for Kawasaki !!

Last and Second Last !! Go Boys !!

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Motegi
Date: 27/09/2008



HOPKINS ELEVENTH IN MOTEGI QUALIFYING
Kawasaki's John Hopkins will start tomorrow's A-Style Grand Prix of Japan at the Motegi circuit from 11th place on the grid, after making further steps forward in race set-up aboard his Ninja ZX-RR.

Hopkins made changes to his chassis set-up in this morning's practice session, particularly to suit a different specification Bridgestone front tyre that he is using for the first time competitively this weekend. The Kawasaki pilot was looking set throughout this afternoon's timed session to take his first top ten grid position since Brno, but a small mistake during his final run on qualifying rubber left him in eleventh place with a best time of 1'46.888s around the 4.8km circuit.

Hopkins is confident that he has a much-improved race pace with the adjustments he and his crew have made today, which has enhanced the braking stability of his Kawasaki race machine. The 25-year-old Anglo-American is looking forward to tomorrow's 24-lap race and is hoping to fight for a strong finish aboard his Ninja ZX-RR, which also features a new specification engine for this weekend.

Anthony West also made a vast improvement during today's two hour-long sessions, despite qualifying in 17th position on the grid. The 27-year-old Australian worked with his crew to identify the cause of the corner entry difficulties that have caused him great frustration in the last few races.

With the changes made to the Kawasaki racer's chassis and engine management settings in this morning's stint, West managed to slash a second off his lap time on a race tyre in the afternoon session. Unfortunately this improvement was not evident on qualifying tyres, but West is now concentrating on building his confidence, especially as he now feels much more comfortable aboard his Ninja ZX-RR.



Hopkins
#21 - 11th - 1'46.888
"From yesterday to today we've definitely made a big improvement with the bike, particularly in the rear end grip and braking stability. The Bridgestone tyres are working well here, and we're now using the same specification front tyre that the other competitors have been on for some time. We had to make a few set-up changes to suit this, but my confidence is growing, so we're back on track and going in the right direction. I was hoping to be in the top ten, but I made a mistake on my last qualifying tyre and we didn't get the best run, which prevented us from achieving a higher starting position. However, it's a better result than we've had in the last few rounds and our race pace is strong, so we're looking for a good start, and I hope we can get away to fight for a good finish, especially as it's Kawasaki's second home event."


West
#13 - 17th - 1'47.669
"I'm obviously disappointed to have qualified so far down the grid, but we've made some progress today. I have been really struggling on corner entry when the machine is under heavy braking, because it locks up and makes it feel very unstable to turn. It's been particularly bad at this circuit, as it's very tight and there are a lot of corners that require heavy braking and hard acceleration. We made some changes from this morning to this afternoon and this made a huge difference in the way the bike handled on a race tyre, giving me a lot more confidence and the ability to run consistently good times. We just didn't have enough time to continue our progress, but it's the first time I've felt really comfortable on the bike for a while and I hope this will transfer into a better result for us in tomorrow's race."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"John made further steps forward today and we have made quite a few changes to his machine to improve his race pace. Although we are still some way off where we need to be in terms of lap times, John has found a good machine setting, particularly on a race tyre, which is definitely positive for tomorrow. With Anthony we made some chassis and engine management changes, which has given him the ability to run a more consistent lap time and improved his braking stability. He was a second faster on a race tyre in the second session in comparison with the first, and he feels more confident on the bike. We still need to develop the package further, but tomorrow is a long race and with what we have found today with both riders, we are making progress."



1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 1'45.543; 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.288; 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.428; 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.517; 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.760; 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.907; 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.953; 8. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +1.011; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.073; 10. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.320; 11. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.345; 17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.126

[mick_dundee]

Hmm I thought it was 16 starters for the GP hencd giving Kwaka a reasonable chance of fininishing top 15, well hope springs eternal

[sneakypete]

YAWN....

same shit..different track.

hope it rains while we are at the GP...only so kwaks can stand a chance...and i only want it to rain for qualifying..

[ty]

watching the two in front was interesting for a while.
At least for the first half of the race...