Kawasaki Moto GP - Sepang

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Sepang
Date: 15/10/2008


KAWASAKI HEAD FOR THE PENULTIMATE ROUND AT SEPANG
The fast and technical Sepang circuit plays host to the penultimate round of the 2008 MotoGP world championship this weekend, and both Kawasaki riders head for Malaysia with a top ten finish firmly in their sights.

John Hopkins is confident that his time on the Ninja ZX-RR, and the positive results achieved during pre-season testing around the Malaysian track, will be highly beneficial for this weekend's Grand Prix, as he hopes that the continued developments he has made throughout the year will come to fruition. The 5.55km circuit is one that the Anglo-American enjoys, and he is looking forward to finishing his debut season aboard the Kawasaki with two good results at Sepang and in the final race in Valencia.

Hopkins has spent the recent races focussing on development of the machine in readiness for next season, but the 25-year-old, who has begun to regain his confidence after a series of crashes, will be looking to return to his rightful place in the top ten aboard his Kawasaki race machine this weekend.

Anthony West is keen to replicate the pace he had at the Malaysian circuit in 2007 when, but for a mistake at the start of the race, he was on track to score a career-best MotoGP finish. The 27-year-old Kawasaki pilot qualified impressively on the second row of the grid, but was forced to surrender his fifth position in the race when he was penalised for lining up on the wrong grid position.

West finished ahead of his teammate last time out and, as the season draws to a close, the Australian is determined to continue the trend.

The Sepang circuit is an impressive facility and famous for its enormous grand stands with hibiscus (the national flower of Malaysia) style roofs. The track layout is one of the longest and most complicated on the MotoGP calendar, making it technically demanding for both machine and rider. The climatic conditions with temperatures around 38 degrees and humidity levels in excess of 75% represent a tough physical challenge for all riders, as do the unavoidable heavy bursts of rainfall during the course of the weekend.


West
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"The last week has been great because I went home straight after the race in Phillip Island and spent some time with the family. I've hardly been in Australia on the Gold Coast this year, as most of the races are in Europe, so it's certainly been nice to spend some time there in the good weather. I qualified well in Malaysia last year, although it's not a circuit I have specific feelings about either way. I made a stupid mistake in the race when I lined up on the wrong grid position, although we had been well on the pace all weekend and it could have possibly been the best result of the year for me. It would be great if I could repeat the pace I had in qualifying last season, but I feel a little unsure of what we can realistically achieve, as it's been tough going in the last few races. Hopefully the Malaysian heat will work to our advantage and we can put ourselves back in the top ten."


Hopkins
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
"I've had a really good vacation since Phillip Island as Ashleigh and I stayed on to visit Sydney before driving up the Gold Coast. I've always wanted to see a bit more of Australia, and we've done the whole tourist thing by snorkelling and spending some time on the beach. I've also continued to train really hard, and it would be great if we can gain some strong results aboard the Kawasaki in the final two rounds. I'm now 100% focussed on Malaysia, especially as it's a track I enjoy. We had a positive test there in January before I got injured, and I'm confident that we've made some big steps forward since then. I think we can go there and be quite competitive, but it will also be nice to race in some warmer weather."

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Sepang
Date: 17/10/2008




KAWASAKI RIDERS LOOKING FOR SET-UP AT SEPANG
Kawasaki's Anthony West and John Hopkins both remain confident of a strong performance in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, despite enduring a difficult opening day at Sepang. Less than ideal track conditions, unpredictable weather and set-up issues on their Ninja ZX-RR machines conspired against the two Kawasaki pilots today, leaving them short of the top ten positions both had targeted ahead of this weekend's race.

West spent both sessions today looking again for a solution to the rear grip problems than have plagued him all season, with the Australian continuing to complain that the rear tyre is too quick to spin up out of the turns and the bike is going sideways rather than forwards.

Set-up changes to his Ninja ZX-RR resulted in a slight improvement during this afternoon's practice, but the 27-year-old Kawasaki rider was unable to assess accurately just how much of an improvement had been made due to the frequent rain showers during the session.

After Hopkins struggled this morning with front-end issues on his Ninja ZX-RR his crew made major changes to the set-up of the bike in an attempt to give the 25-year-old Anglo-American more confidence in the front tyre. Unfortunately, the changes didn't have the desired effect, and Hopkins wasn't able to push for a fast lap time in between the frequent showers this afternoon.

Both riders will look closely at the data collected today in a bid to improve set-up ahead of tomorrow morning's final free practice session. Although disappointed not to have finished higher up the timesheet today, the fact that they were both fast here during winter testing at the start of the year means that Hopkins and West are confident of a significant improvement in lap times tomorrow.



West
#13 - 12th - 2'03.925
"Conditions weren't ideal this morning, as the track was really dirty and it took quite a long time to clean up before we had the level of grip needed to start pushing. As soon as we did start to get faster then I encountered the same problem that we've been having almost since the start of the season. On the gas coming out of the turns the bike just goes sideways instead of driving forward, and it's costing me a lot of time. We made some improvements for this afternoon, but I don't know exactly how much of an improvement because the showers that were working their way around the circuit didn't do much for confidence. When you're flat on the tank down the straight here, even a slight shower looks like torrential rain as it bounces off the screen! We will look closely at the data tonight and, hopefully, we can continue to make improvements tomorrow. On a positive note, I'm not last on the timesheet this week, so we've definitely made some improvement already!"




Hopkins
#21 - 18th - 2'04.267
"We had to wait for the track to clean up before we could get down to evaluating tyres this morning, and then I had some problems with the front end of the bike. I was struggling to get the bike into the turns, because the front felt like it was going to tuck all the time. We made some major set-up changes this afternoon to counter the problem, but I think we maybe went in the wrong direction because we didn't see the improvement we were expecting. We will look at our options tonight, ready for tomorrow. I'm not so worried about the situation, as we know we can go back to the set-up we ran here during winter testing, when our lap times were pretty good, if necessary. I'm pretty confident we can go faster tomorrow, but we could definitely do without the showers that made this afternoon's session quite difficult."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"Despite the issues with set-up today, both riders aren't that far off the pace here in Sepang. Anthony is losing rear traction mid-corner, and this is pushing him wide at the apex and losing him time, which he then tries to make up by opening the throttle hard when the bike is still leant over. We will make some changes to the balance of the machine for tomorrow, which should give Anthony better rear traction at the critical point of the corner and allow him the time to sit the bike up before he opens the throttle. With John we tried a quite different set-up on his bike this afternoon than he's used to. We can see from the data that this has given us some improvements, but the lack of feeling from the front-end means that John wasn't able to take advantage of the changes today. We will also change slightly the balance of his bike for tomorrow, to improve feedback from the front and to allow him to regain the confidence he needs to push for a faster lap time."



1. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 2'02.667; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.026; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.303; 4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.383; 5. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +0.512; 6. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.565; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.679; 8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +0.763; 9. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +0.807; 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.883; 12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.258; 18. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.600

[hoffy]

AWESOME !! 14th and 15th....Go Boys, So Proud !

Results 2008
MotoGP | 250cc | 125cc
POLINI MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX
MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 1 Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2'02.693 305.775
2 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2'03.179 305.862 0.486
3 1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2'03.195 308.571 0.502
4 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 2'03.439 302.013 0.746
5 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 2'03.535 296.784 0.842
6 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'03.649 304.225 0.956
7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'03.735 302.775 1.042
8 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 2'03.785 304.568 1.092
9 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda 2'03.839 298.837 1.146
10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 2'03.964 300.000 1.271
11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'04.137 298.507 1.444
12 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2'04.169 309.810 1.476
13 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 2'04.256 294.518 1.563
14 21 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 2'04.267 305.170 1.574
15 13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 2'04.383 304.826 1.690
16 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team Ducati 2'04.399 309.278 1.706
17 2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'04.460 302.775 1.767
18 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team Ducati 2'04.833 307.955 2.140
19 9 Nobuatsu AOKI JPN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'07.530 302.605 4.837

[mick_dundee]

What time is the race on pov TV? Checked out Channel Ten's online guide and they seem to think there are two F1 Gp's this weekened rather than an F1 and a Moto GP..

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Sepang
Date: 18/10/2008



HOPKINS AND WEST ON TARGET FOR TOP TEN AT SEPANG
John Hopkins overcame difficult track conditions at the Sepang circuit this afternoon, to qualify his Ninja ZX-RR in tenth place for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix. Anthony West trailed his Kawasaki teammate by just two tenths of a second at the end of the hour-long timed session, and will start tomorrow's 21-lap race from 13th position and the fifth row of the grid.

With rain forecast for qualifying, and mindful of the fact that the 2006 grid was decided on practice times when monsoon conditions saw the final timed session cancelled, both Kawasaki riders went out on qualifying rubber right at the end of free practice this morning. A mistake by Hopkins cost him time, but West managed to get the best from the super-sticky rubber to claim the top spot on the timesheet at the conclusion of the session.

It looked as if West's gamble with the qualifier might pay off, as heavy rain started to fall shortly after the final free practice session and continued right up to the start of qualifying. Unfortunately for the Australian, the rain disappeared and the tropical sun soon started to dry out the 5.548km Sepang track

Despite treacherous conditions making available grip unpredictable, Hopkins switched early from wets to slicks in an attempt to get a feel for the tyres before running the first of two qualifiers. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot wasn't able to get the best from his first qualifying tyre due to chatter, but his run on the second saw him jump up to fifth place, before he was eventually demoted to tenth by a succession of faster riders right at the end.

West continued to struggle with a lack of rear traction out of the turns during qualifying, despite changes made to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR during this morning's free practice session. Adopting the same approach that saw him hold off his teammate last time out at Phillip Island, West simply pinned the throttle and put his faith in the qualifying tyre. As a result, the Kawasaki pilot finished just two tenths of a second behind his teammate to secure his best grid position since the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno.

Both Kawasaki riders go into tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix confident of bringing their Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machines home in the top ten.



Hopkins
#21 - 10th - 2'03.184
"The rain was so heavy ahead of qualifying that I thought Ant was going to end up on pole thanks to his fast lap this morning! Qualifying was fully wet to start with, but grip was hard to find even with the softest wet tyres on the bike. We were sliding around everywhere, which was good fun but not very productive. I switched to slicks quite early, but it was quite tricky dodging the damp patches and the grip was pretty unpredictable. My first qualifier induced some chatter in the bike, but my second qualifying run was a lot better. Unfortunately, because of the track conditions at the start, we ran out of time to stick another qualifier on the bike. I'm pretty confident I could have improved my grid position if we'd had the chance to use the last soft tyre, but that's the way it is sometimes and it was the same for everyone. The improvements we made this morning to our dry set-up mean we're pretty much on the pace, so a top ten finish is definitely on the cards for tomorrow."



West

#13 - 13th - 2'03.392
"We didn't manage to make any big improvements to our set-up this morning, so launching the bike out of the turns was still a problem during qualifying this afternoon. At the start of the session, with the track completely wet, everyone was having the same problem, but as the track started to dry out it was just me who was sideways out of the corners In the end I could only do what I did in Australia and just open the throttle and hang on. I was pretty close to John at the finish, so it seems it's not such a bad approach. If I'd had time to run my second qualifier then I might have been able to close the gap to him even further, but the conditions at the start put paid to that. It's nice to be off the back row of the grid and I think a top ten finish tomorrow is a distinct possibility. That, and beating my teammate of course, is what I'll be aiming for anyway."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"The conditions this afternoon meant that neither rider was able to use their full allocation of qualifiers, otherwise I think we'd have been a bit closer to the front of the grid. We've qualified better than we did in Australia, so I'm happy about that, as starting from the back row of the grid makes everyone's job more difficult. We know we have good wet settings, and the changes we made to our dry set-up this morning improved things, so I'm pretty confident that both riders will finish tomorrow in the top ten regardless of the weather conditions."



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2'01.548; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.409; 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +0.623; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.644; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.697; 6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +1.288; 7. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.405; 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.530; 9. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +1.562; 10. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.636; 11. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.723; 12. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.734; 13. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.844

[Disco]

What time is the race on pov TV? Checked out Channel Ten's online guide and they seem to think there are two F1 Gp's this weekened rather than an F1 and a Moto GP..

MY guide says monday morning 12:55am is usually earlier on HD but isn't listed

[evilsim]

FOX Sports 3 ... Sunday 19/10/08

3:00pm Live: Motorsport: MotoGP Round 17
Malaysia. With the 125 and MotoGP champions crowned for the season, all the attention turns to the 250cc class with Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista and Mika Kallio all still alive in the title fight.

[mfzx6r]

Aspar and Kawasaki explain reasons for impasse
Saturday, 18 October 2008

After a lengthy planning and negotiation process the hopes of Jorge Martinez `Aspar´ of adding a third bike onto the 2009 MotoGP grid appear to have come to an end.


Discussions involving Jorge Martinez `Aspar´ and Kawasaki on the subject of a third factory bike from the Japanese firm in next year´s MotoGP World Championship look to have hit a dead end.

Aspar told motogp.com on Saturday, `We have ended up in a situation where Kawasaki are insisting that we have a Japanese rider, (Shinya) Nakano, on the bike. Although I consider Nakano to be an exceptional rider, for us, with Spanish sponsors, we need a rider from our country. This has been the main obstacle. It is a shame because we were really excited about it and really wanted to take this 2009 MotoGP project forward. We have been trying to get into MotoGP for two years now but in the end it hasn´t been possible.´

`We will keep working towards being in MotoGP in 2010. That is my main aim because in 125cc and 250cc we are already achieving what we set out to achieve. We are going to put all our efforts towards that, as a team and with our sponsors so that we have an agreement at the end of this season with one of the factories for 2010.´

Giving his perspective on the situation Kawasaki´s Competition Manager Michael Bartholemy is trying to keep a positive viewpoint and has not given up his hopes completely at this stage.

He said, `Their sponsor is Spanish and it is difficult for them to pay for a rider who is not Spanish. So it looks like we are lacking money and we have to find a big amount. I spoke to Mr Martinez directly and we said it is a shame to give up on the project because he has a very good rider coming in 2010 and there are still many positive points, so he has said he will do his best, maybe with another sponsor. We have maybe some possibilities so I hope we still have a chance in the next few days to find some money.´

Meanwhile, referring to his plans for next year in the smaller classes, Aspar added, `With regard to 2009 we are clear that we will have Bautista involved again, but will still need to decide on our second 250cc rider. The final decision will depend on whether we have a Hungarian element in place, with Gabor Talmacsi. In 125cc we have already sorted contracts with Julian Simon and Bradley Smith and we wait to see if we will run a third bike. We are tying up all the loose ends and I want to finalise things next week.´


TAGS
Malaysia
Kawasaki Racing Team

[mfzx6r]

What time is the race on pov TV? Checked out Channel Ten's online guide and they seem to think there are two F1 Gp's this weekened rather than an F1 and a Moto GP..

MY guide says monday morning 12:55am is usually earlier on HD but isn't listed

thats sad !!!

Close MotoGP Round 17 02:00 pm - 06:30 pm
Sunday October 19 2008
Genre: Sport Motorsport Rating: Screening Info: Widescreen Show Details: Malaysia: Tune in for some of the all-time great races and possibly the most dramatic of all championships!
Advertisement

[evilsim]

FOX Sports 3 ... Sunday 19/10/08

3:00pm Live: Motorsport: MotoGP Round 17
Malaysia. With the 125 and MotoGP champions crowned for the season, all the attention turns to the 250cc class with Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista and Mika Kallio all still alive in the title fight.

hmmm

[ty]

race = ho hum
top 10 = almost
3rd bike = bugger

[hoffy]

This Pic says it all really...

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Sepang
Date: 19/10/2008




KAWASAKI DUO ENDURE SWELTERING SEPANG
Kawasaki's John Hopkins overcame rear traction problems and the sweltering heat to take a hard fought 11th place in today's Malaysian Grand Prix. Anthony West followed his Anglo-American teammate home in 12th place, after struggling with similar issues around the blisteringly hot Sepang track.

Both Kawasaki riders managed to make up places in the drag race from the start down to the left-hand turn one, but then fell victim to other riders running wide as the pack jostled for position on the opening lap.

Hopkins managed to negotiate turn one safely, but then lost ground as he was pushed wide twice on the first lap. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot eventually hooked onto the back of the battle for ninth place between Randy de Puniet and Chris Vermeulen, but was unable to close the gap as his rear tyre started to go off. After chasing hard throughout the race, Hopkins was eventually forced to drop back and settle for 11th place at the chequered flag.

West's problems started even earlier than those of his teammate. The 27-year-old Australian made up a handful of places away from the start, but then got pushed wide by James Toseland, as the British rider struggled to get his bike stopped on the entry to turn one.

West eventually found himself in 12th place, but too far off the back of his teammate to try and mount a challenge on Hopkins. The Kawasaki pilot struggled with rear traction throughout the race, but managed to ride around the problem to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in the points once again.

The Kawasaki Racing Team now head straight to Valencia, where both riders are hoping to finish with a strong performance in the season finale.



Hopkins
#21 - 11th Position
"I got away from the start pretty well, but then I got pushed out wide a couple of times in the first lap, so I didn't manage to make up as many places as I was hoping for. Initially the lap times were good, but as soon as the rear tyre started to go off I began having problems. We improved confidence in the front this weekend, so I was able to close right onto the back of Vermeulen into the turns, but I was losing ground on the exit every time. The bike was just spinning off the edge of the rear tyre on the throttle, and it continued spinning once you'd picked it up onto the fat part of the tyre. With five laps to go the rear grip dropped off even more, giving me no chance of catching de Puniet and Vermeulen before the end. Rear traction has been a consistent issue this season, and it's an area that we need to look at very closely if we're to fully understand the cause, and ensure that we don't transfer the same problem to the 2009 bike. The result today was disappointing, because I really thought it was possible to get into the top ten. Hopefully we can end our season with a better result next weekend in Valencia."


West
#13 - 12th Position
"The start went pretty well, but then I got pushed out real wide in the first turn and lost all the places I'd made up at the start. Things weren't too bad for the first part of the race; the rear was still spinning up out of the corners, but at least there was some drive. But as the rear tyre started to go off I started having problems going into the turn. It was a really strange feeling; the rear would break traction as I turned in off the throttle. It was worst at the downhill turn two where it really unsettled the bike on entry, but I could feel it everywhere to differing degrees. It's quite hard to put in consistent lap times when you're lacking rear grip on both corner entry and exit, but I just got my head down and did the best I could. Hopefully we can come up with some improvements for the season finale next weekend, as I'd really like to end my time at Kawasaki with a good result."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"This wasn't the result we were looking for this weekend, but it is still a step forward compared to Phillip Island. We know that with better rear traction both riders would be a lot closer to the front of the race, and we have made improvements in this area, but there is clearly still more work to do. The important thing is that our engineers have a clear idea of the causes, so I'm confident that a solution will be found. But, with only one race left this season, it may be that, realistically, we won't see the benefits of the work done this season until Kawasaki roll out the all-new 2009 bike in February. In the meantime, I hope that we can go out on a high with two good results from John and Anthony next weekend in Valencia. They both deserve it after all their hard work this year."



1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 43'06.007; 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +4.008; 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +8.536; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +8.858; 5. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +10.583; 6. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +13.640; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +15.936; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +18.802; 9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +23.174; 10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +25.516; 11. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +27.609; 12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +41.399; 13. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team +45.61