Kawasaki, Difficult Friday - Phillip Island..

[hoffy]

Kawasaki, Difficult Friday - Phillip Island..

Difficult Friday for Kawasaki team
Friday, 03 October 2008

Kawasaki´s John Hopkins and Anthony West were at the wrong end of the timesheet on the opening day of the Australian Grand Prix.


The Kawasaki riders reflect on a tough first day of free practice at Phillip Island which left them at the bottom of the timesheets.

John Hopkins - sixteenth
`Phillip Island requires something of a compromise with the set-up of the bike, as it needs to be easy to turn at high-speed, but then it also has to be stable through the sweeping turns where you´re on the edge of the tyre for a long time. Today we got it a bit wrong and it was difficult to find traction exiting the turns this morning. We made some improvements during the session, but the rain in the afternoon meant we weren´t able to progress any further. Although we also had some problems with rear grip in the wet this afternoon, I´m happy that we know exactly what we need to change for tomorrow, regardless of whether it turns out wet or dry.´
Anthony West - seventeenth
`We had the same problems we´ve had all season this morning, where the bike just wants to spin up as soon as you touch the throttle exiting the corner. It was frustrating, because I was losing so much time just on acceleration out of the turn, especially exiting the left-hander onto the main straight, where it´s so important to carry as much speed as possible. This afternoon we had similar problems, but I was also struggling with the stability under braking, as the bike felt like it wanted to run on at the slower corners. It´s frustrating, because normally I can count on being much further up the timesheet when it´s wet, but it just wasn´t possible today because of the issues with the bike. Having said that, with the two different sessions today, we´re pretty fixed on how to improve the bike for tomorrow, whatever the weather might throw at us.´

[TITANIUMBULLET]

what`s new??

[mick_dundee]

It's not just Friday that's difficult, it's been the whole fucking season...

[hoffy]

It's not just Friday that's difficult, it's been the whole fucking season...

I'd say the probably the last 5 seasons..

[Six Addict]

there was a kawasaki in 3rd today!!!! in the aus superbikes....

i reckon the field should be swabbed.... there's no way a kwaka would be in 3rd on the upside it was good to see the bug doing well in shannon's hands