Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Circuit: Le Mans
Date: 12/05/2008


KAWASAKI FIRED UP FOR FRANCE
The Kawasaki Racing Team head for this weekend's French Grand Prix at Le Mans in confident mood, with both John Hopkins and Anthony West determined to make amends after the disappointment of Shanghai.

Hopkins is now fighting fit again, after sustaining a nasty injury at the Chinese Grand Prix. The 24-year-old Anglo-American caught the back of his knee on the foot peg of his Ninja ZX-RR, after a collision with Alex de Angelis forced him off the track at the end of the 1.2km main straight.

Although the injury looks painful - the whole of the back of his leg is black and blue with bruising - Hopkins has continued with his training programme ahead of the French Grand Prix, where he's confident of a good result on a track that suits particularly well his riding style, his Ninja ZX-RR and his Bridgestone tyres.

Frustrated by his Shanghai performance, West is determined to get his season back on track this weekend at Le Mans. Since China, the 27-year-old Australian has been working closely with his crew to find a solution to the traction problems that have plagued him since the start of the season, and he heads for the French Grand Prix confident that they can find some improvement in this area.

The Le Mans circuit, which is situated in the Sarthe region of France and is home to the legendary 24 Heures du Mans car race, is one of the most famous motorsport facilities in the world. First gear corners dominate the 4.18 km Bugatti track, on which Sunday's 28-lap Grand Prix de France will be run, demanding a bike that is stable under braking, but with explosive acceleration out of the low-speed turns.




Hopkins
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
"My leg is completely black and blue with bruising, but while it looks quite nasty it hasn't caused me any problems and I'm confident it won't be an issue on the bike. I'm looking forward to Le Mans, as it's a track that suits my riding style and it's one that I like racing on. The track features a lot of hard braking, quick changes of direction and hard acceleration, and that's exactly what the Ninja ZX-RR has been designed for. When you combine this with our Bridgestone tyres, which always seem to work well here, then I think we're in a strong position going into this weekend. The only thing we need to watch out for is the weather, as it's notoriously changeable at Le Mans, but wet or dry I'm confident that we can put in a strong performance in France."


West
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"After the disappointment of the result in China I'm looking forward to Le Mans and, hopefully, securing the results I know I'm capable of. I've had some problems this year with the rear tyre spinning up too easily out of the turns, but after discussing the problem with my crew and Kawasaki's technical staff, we think we've identified what we need to change on the bike to see an improvement in this area. If we can fix this problem, then I'm confident that a top ten finish in France is a realistic goal for me, as I like the Le Mans circuit."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"Our Ninja ZX-RR has been well suited to the characteristics of the Le Mans circuit in the past, so we head to France confident that we can improve significantly on our results last time out in China. I hope that John has fully recovered from the injury he sustained in the Shanghai race; he didn't make such a big deal of it at the time, but he was left with a large haematoma where he was hit in the leg by the foot peg. Although it's not a serious injury, soft tissue wounds like this can remain painful for a long time. We've also got some changes to make to Anthony's bike, and I hope that this will eliminate the problems he's been having and allow him to start challenging for top ten positions again."

for those with foxtel

MotoGP Round 5, France 07:00 pm - 11:30 pm
Sunday May 18 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!

on fox sports 3

and for those with poormans TV as if !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FFS... i think i might pray for rain....

at least we stand a chance then...

mfzx6r wrote: 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!

I'm loving this widescreen action!

mfzx6r wrote:...and for those with poormans TV as if !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Channel Ten, 10:45pm - 12:40am

Circuit: Le Mans
Date: 16/05/2008




KAWASAKI DUO SEE IMPROVEMENTS AT LE MANS
Kawasaki's John Hopkins and Anthony West finished today's opening practice sessions ahead of Sunday's French Grand Prix in ninth and 16th positions respectively, after focussing on refining machine set-up during the two, one-hour track sessions.

Hopkins spent most of the two practice sessions perfecting the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR to suit the stop-start, hard braking nature of the 4.18km Bugatti circuit. The Anglo-American ran through different tyre options with Bridgestone, lapping quickly and consistently, despite some difficulties with feeling in the front end of his machine.

Hopkins remains confident ahead of tomorrow, where he is sure that with some further refinements in the set-up of his Kawasaki, he can improve his lap time significantly. The 24-year-old Kawasaki pilot ended the day with a best time of 1'35.133, less than a second off fastest man, Dani Pedrosa.

Teammate West ended the practice sessions in more confident mood compared to previous rounds. The Australian, who makes his Le Mans debut on a MotoGP machine this weekend, feels more comfortable on his Ninja ZX-RR, after Kawasaki's engineers made minor changes to the power delivery of their 800cc, inline four-cylinder engine.

While he was unhappy with his finishing position today, West admitted he was able to lap more consistently and he remains confident that, tomorrow, he can improve on his final lap time of 1'35.877. The 26-year-old is aware of the particular areas of the track where traction issues are slowing him down, and the Kawasaki pilot is hoping that with the data collected today the team can continue making improvements during tomorrow's qualifying session.



Hopkins
#21: 9th – 1'35.133
"Le Mans is a track I quite enjoy and although the position isn't where we want to be, I'm feeling confident. We've used the practice sessions today to find a tyre combination that works well in both the front and rear. At the moment we're struggling a little bit with feeling in the front-end, which is costing us time. It's nothing particularly major as we can lap quickly and consistently, but I feel that an improvement in this will reduce our lap time considerably. We have a few ideas on how to achieve this and tomorrow we'll be aiming for a good qualifying position."


West
#13: 16th – 1'35.877
"I'm feeling a little bit more confident here today than I have in previous rounds. The circuit seems to suit our bike, as there are not so many turns here where the bike is leaned over for long periods of time, and this is where we've experienced problems in the past. We've made some alterations to my Ninja ZX-RR and I feel a lot more comfortable as I can use the bike's strength on corner entry to put together reasonable lap times. The position isn't anywhere near where we want to be, but I can lap consistently and this is a good sign as we were unable to do this before. There are two longer corners in the track where we need to improve traction, but we have some direction now and I hope we can continue with this tomorrow."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"Today we have been trying many tyre combinations that suit different conditions, as the weather here in Le Mans is very changeable. With John we have found a good set-up, although this needs to be refined in order for him to achieve the position we are looking for. Anthony is making steps forward and his lap times are much more consistent. We have altered the power delivery of his machine, which has made a big difference and the aim is to build on this further during tomorrow. We still have a lot of work to do but I am confident we can gain a good result here."



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'34.227; 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.049; 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.060; 4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +0.260; 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.403; 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.659; 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.820; 8. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda +0.846; 9. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.906; 10. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.012; 16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.650

Circuit: Le Mans
Date: 17/05/2008




THIRD ROW FOR HOPKINS AT LE MANS
Kawasaki’s John Hopkins will start tomorrow’s French Grand Prix from the third row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in ninth place during this afternoon’s hour long timed session.

Hopkins used the first half of the qualifying session to identify the best front tyre option on his Ninja ZX-RR, before switching to a rear qualifier with just 23 minutes remaining.

The 24-year-old Anglo-American looked set to steal pole with the fastest time through the first three sectors on his first flying lap, but had to settle for provisional sixth place on the grid, after being baulked by Honda’s Alex de Angelis and then suffering a big rear slide through the final sector.

The Kawasaki pilot had two more runs on qualifying tyres and, despite having to run a front tyre that didn’t work as effectively in combination with the super-sticky Bridgestone rear, marginally improved on his lap time with his final flying lap.

Hopkins goes into tomorrow’s 28-lap race confident that his Ninja ZX-RR is more than a match for his factory rivals in race trim.

Anthony West was, once again, left looking for answers after being plagued by the rear traction problems that have so far hampered his first full season as a factory MotoGP rider. As a result, he was only able to make a small improvement to his fastest lap time after switching to qualifying tyres.

The Le Mans circuit is not an easy one at which to overtake, which means the Kawasaki pilot faces a tough task tomorrow starting from 18th position, and the back row of the grid. But West is nothing if not a battler, and the 26-year-old Australian heads into tomorrow’s 28-lap contest determined to fight his way through to a points scoring finish.



Hopkins
#21 – 9th – 1’33.628
"This morning we made considerable progress on a race tyre, and we improved our lap time by three tenths of a second on each run. We didn't know what the weather was going to do this afternoon, so we finalised our dry race tyre in the first session. In qualifying we worked on finding a better front-end feeling on the Ninja ZX-RR to give me more confidence going into the corners. The first run we had on a qualifying tyre wasn't so great as I had a bit of a slide, but we found a combination that worked reasonably well and I was able to push quite hard to gain a third row grid position on our final run. Tomorrow we have to get away from the line quickly; the bike is ready to race and I'm looking forward to it whatever the weather."


West
#13 – 18th – 1’35.349
"I'm incredibly frustrated that we were unable to continue making progress today. We went out on a race tyre in practice and I felt comfortable with the direction we were going. However, we just couldn't make a significant improvement on a qualifying tyre, which has put us on the back of the grid. For me this is not good enough, especially as John seems to be able to make the bike work for him. I have to look at maybe changing my riding style to improve our times, try to find the root cause of our problems, and turn my season around. We will not make any changes to the bike overnight, and tomorrow I'll be going out to race as hard as possible."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"John did a good job today. We are losing ground, and time, out of the turns at the moment, and we are working hard to improve in this area, but John seems to be able to adapt his riding style to compensate. Anthony, on the other hand, is finding it more difficult to adapt. We have made many changes to the bike to try and improve Anthony’s feeling with the rear, but with limited success. Now he must look to himself for at least part of the solution; he needs to adapt his style further to get the best from our Ninja ZX-RR, so that he’s able to run closer to his teammate during both qualifying and the race. Anthony still has my full support, as I’m confident that it is only a matter of a short time before he’s back where he belongs; well inside the top ten.”



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'32.647; 2. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.127; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.347; 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.510; 5. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +0.622; 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.639; 7. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.749; 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.793; 9. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.981; 10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scott +2.702; 18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.702

Unfortunately I can't see West getting re-signed for next year

Punisher wrote:Unfortunately I can't see West getting re-signed for next year

Yeah.. he's been a huge disappointment so far.

I think he needs to grow a pair

yeah, it looks as thought the West ZXRR combo hasn't really worked out, a pity it was good to see an Aussie on the Kwaka! Hopefully he'll get another crack at the top level..... but it doesn't look too good for him at the moment....although it could all turn around for him if he manages to adjust a bit and start finishing a bit higher in the order!

SoundGuy wrote:

Punisher wrote:Unfortunately I can't see West getting re-signed for next year

Yeah.. he's been a huge disappointment so far.

No argument from anyone I don't reckon and Westy would include himself too I bet.

SoundGuy wrote:I think he needs to grow a pair

I think he has a quite capable pair, wouldn't have got this far without em... question remains though, why does the bike not perform for Westy but seems okj for for Hopper??

The only way for Westy to keep his contract is if it rains every round from here on in. Good news about Hoppers position in qualifying, hopefully he can make something of it, coming off the third row. Also does anyone know what time the main race will be on for austar people? I had a late night last night and i could literally fall asleep right now and get back upto watch the main race.

mick_dundee wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Punisher wrote:Unfortunately I can't see West getting re-signed for next year

Yeah.. he's been a huge disappointment so far.

No argument from anyone I don't reckon and Westy would include himself too I bet.

SoundGuy wrote:I think he needs to grow a pair

I think he has a quite capable pair, wouldn't have got this far without em... question remains though, why does the bike not perform for Westy but seems okj for for Hopper??

Because Hopper belongs to those group of riders that if the bike isn't 100% they adjust to the bike quickly and do their best.

Circuit: Le Mans
Date: 18/05/2008




BAD LUCK DOGS KAWASAKI AT LE MANS
Despite a strong start to today’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans, Kawasaki’s John Hopkins saw any chance of a top five finish disappear just after the halfway point in the race, when the chain on his Ninja ZX-RR snapped without warning.

The 24-year-old Anglo-American had fought his way through into seventh place during the early stages of the race and was closing rapidly on the battle for fifth when the incident occurred. It was a bitterly disappointed Hopkins who was forced to park the chainless bike against the Armco barrier and walk back to the paddock.

It is the first time that such a failure has occurred, despite many miles of testing and racing. Kawasaki’s race engineers will now return with the chain to Japan, where they will work with the manufacturer to identify exactly what caused the chain to fail under race conditions.

With Hopkins out of the race, it was left to Anthony West to carry the flag for Kawasaki, but the 26-year-old Australian had his own problems to contend with. From the start of the 28-lap race, West was struggling with a severe lack of rear grip that saw his Ninja ZX-RR spinning up on the gas out of every turn.

In characteristic style, West refused to be defeated by the problem, and his dogged determination saw him eventually finish in 14th position, for which he was rewarded with two valuable championship points.

It was a frustrated West that returned to the Kawasaki pit box to demand answers from his crew, who were quick to identify the cause as a problem with the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR.

Both Kawasaki riders leave Le Mans disappointed, but determined to make amends in the next race at Mugello, which takes place in just two weeks time.





West
13 - 14th Position
“I am not happy at all. This weekend has been a struggle, because we’ve had the same rear traction problems that we’ve experienced at every track since the start of the season. But then, in the race, the rear grip was non-existent; the bike was spinning up if I even thought about opening the throttle. I knew straight away that something was wrong, but short of coming in for a change of tyre and kissing any chance of a points scoring finish goodbye, there was nothing I could do. In the end, I just did what I could to ride round the problem, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to see the chequered flag as I was today. Now I want to know what the problem was, and I want to be sure that we don’t have the same problem again.”


Hopkins
#21 - DNF
“After practice and qualifying I really thought we could come away from Le Mans with a good result, which makes today even more frustrating. I got a pretty good start, and was then able to make up places by passing on the brakes, but there are still a number of areas where we’re losing out, on acceleration out of the turns for example, and this makes it difficult to make a pass stick. It’s no fun holding off someone like Lorenzo for a whole lap, only to see him motor past you as soon as you get onto the straight. We need to work on these areas, starting with tomorrow’s test, and we need to make some improvements if we’re to increase our competitiveness. As for the chain, I guess that was just bad luck. Now we need to find out why it failed, so we can avoid the same problem in the future. Finally, I’d like to apologise to Loris for the pass I put on him, which was a little bit hard. Sorry Loris!”



Kawasaki Competition Manager
“It has been a frustrating weekend for everyone, but we can’t allow our heads to drop as a result of the problems we faced today. John started well, and was closing on the battle for fifth place when his chain snapped, putting him out of the race. Obviously, we need to identify what caused the failure so that we can avoid the same problem in the future. To Anthony I’d like to apologise, because the difficulties he experienced today were due to a miscalculation on the part of the team. He showed true determination this afternoon by riding around the problem to finish the race, and for that he should be commended. Some very important lessons have been learnt this weekend, and while it may have been a painful learning process, this experience will only make us stronger as a team. Now we need to focus on Mugello, where we must realise the full potential of our riders and our Ninja ZX-RR.”



1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 44'30.799; 2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +4.997; 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +6.805; 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +10.157; 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +21.762; 6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scott +22.395; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +27.806; 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +27.995; 9. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda +29.334; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +30.822; 14. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1'29.307; DNF. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +12 Laps