Kawasaki Moto GP - Catalunya

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Catalunya
Date: 06/06/2008



TOUGH DAY FOR HOPKINS AS WEST SEES IMPROVEMENTS
The opening day of practice for Sunday's Grand Prix of Catalunya was one of mixed fortunes for the Kawasaki Racing Team, with Anthony West finishing 18th fastest, and John Hopkins setting the 14th fastest time, despite a crash that sidelined him for most of the afternoon practice session.

Overnight rain meant that track conditions were far from ideal for the opening practice session this morning, but the situation had improved considerably by the time the MotoGP riders took to the track for their second hour of practice this afternoon.

Unfortunately, Hopkins was unable to take maximum advantage of the almost perfect conditions due to a crash just seven laps into the session, when he lost the front in the second part of the chicane. The 25-year-old Anglo-American managed to hold the bike up on his knee, but then lost the rear as he tried to recover front grip.

The Kawasaki pilot landed heavily on his back, leaving him battered, bruised and unable to ride again for the rest of the hour-long session. Hopkins will face a further examination in the morning by Clinica Mobile staff, who will then make the final decision as to whether he is fit to ride in tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions.

West, although frustrated with his fastest lap time today, regained his confidence in the front-end of his Ninja ZX-RR after set-up changes eliminated the problems he encountered during last weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.

Together with his crew, the 26-year-old Australian will focus tomorrow on improving rear traction on corner exit, which is critical to a fast lap time at Catalunya, where the riders are accelerating hard for long periods on the side of the tyre.


Hopkins
#21 - 14th - 1'44.043
"The first few laps on the bike this afternoon felt quite good, but when I started to push the front tucked going into turn two. When I gave it some gas to pick the bike up the rear came round on me and spat me over the highside. I landed heavily on my back, and it was painful enough to stop me riding again during the session. I had the injury checked out at the Clinica Mobile, but they have insisted that I undergo another examination tomorrow before they pass me fit to ride. If I'm allowed to ride then my back is going to be sore, but I'll just have to grit my teeth and do the best I can."


West
#13 - 18th - 1'44.865
"The position may remain the same, but we have made some progress with the bike today. We've all but eliminated the problems I had with the front-end of the bike in Mugello, and that's given me more confidence to push the front harder. Now we need to refocus on improving rear traction, which is so important here at Catalunya. So, while I'm not yet happy with my lap time or my position on the timesheet, I'm pretty pleased with the small steps we've made today, and I hope we can continue in this way tomorrow."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
“Anthony has made a big step forward today with the front-end set-up of his machine. He feels more confident, although he’s still suffering with rear grip troubles. It’s important for us to try and improve these issues step by step, and we now must concentrate on giving him the ability to turn and exit corners more smoothly. The situation with John is unclear at this stage, but I am confident that, with the experience of his crew, we can make up for lost time during tomorrow’s sessions if he's fit to return.”



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'43.017; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.006; 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.073; 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.082; 5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.216; 6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.351; 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.425; 8. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.462; 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.597; 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.651; 14. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.026; 18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.848

[hoffy]

Bring Back Randy !!

[dave#3]

Bring Back Randy !!

Is it not better for Westy to finish in 15th place then for Randy to crash out of 8th? I think Barry Sheene once said, to finish first, first you must finish.

[mfzx6r]

live timing is on as we speak !!!!!!!! go to motogp.com

[mfzx6r]

live timing is on as we speak !!!!!!!! go to motogp.com

14 and 17 th there's something wrong with that zxrr !!! those 2 riders aint that bad it's the bike !

[hoffy]

live timing is on as we speak !!!!!!!! go to motogp.com

14 and 17 th there's something wrong with that zxrr !!! those 2 riders aint that bad it's the bike !

At least Randy could put it on the front row now and again !

[aardvark]

Stoner on his way to pole:

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Catalunya
Date: 07/06/2008




HOPKINS BATTLES BRAVELY ON DURING CATALUNYA QUALIFYING
Kawasaki’s John Hopkins bravely qualified in 14th position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Catalunya, after riding with an injured back sustained in a turn two highside during Friday’s practice.

Hopkins was determined to make up for the loss of valuable track time to set up his Ninja ZX-RR around the Catalunya circuit, after crashing heavily seven laps into yesterday afternoon’s practice. The battered and bruised Anglo-American rode through the pain barrier during today’s sessions, busying himself with finding a good race pace, whilst suffering with severe discomfort from the painful back injury.

The 25-year-old used this morning’s practice to identify the best tyre combination for the race and although he was hoping for a better grid position during qualifying, Hopkins remains determined to put the recent setbacks he has encountered behind him. The Kawasaki pilot will work together with his crew overnight to make further improvements to the set-up of his machine, and he will receive further treatment on his injury in preparation for tomorrow’s 25-lap race.

Teammate Anthony West had a difficult qualifying session around the 4.727km circuit, finishing in 17th position on the grid. The 26-year-old Australian’s second qualifying run came to a premature end when an electrical problem brought his Ninja ZX-RR to a halt on the back part of the circuit.

West rushed back to the Kawasaki pit box, with the aim of completing his final two qualifying runs aboard his spare machine, but the session was brought to a close before he was able to exit pit lane.




Hopkins
#21 - 14th - 1'42.819
“It’s been difficult to ride today because I’ve never had a back injury before and I’m in quite a lot of pain. I’m finding it hard to breathe properly in places, particularly on left-hand turns, and when riding at this level with the strains put on the body at the speeds we’re traveling, it’s tough going. However, we have a good race pace despite the lost track time and we have to stay focused. Overnight we’re going to look at some areas to improve the set-up as we’re suffering with some lack of grip, particularly at the apex of the turns, and I think with a few adjustments we can improve our lap time. I’d have liked to have qualified a bit higher up the grid, but tomorrow I’m going to go out and give it my all.”


West
#13 - 17th - 1'44.558
“We made some improvements to the front-end of the machine yesterday, so practice today was all about finding a better set-up in the rear. We made a few changes but unfortunately it didn’t really bring the results we were hoping for, and I’m still suffering with grip troubles. During my second qualifying run we encountered a problem with the machine, and we ran out of time to go back out on track, which was also very frustrating. Tomorrow we have to make the best of what we have and try to get a good result in the race.”



Hopkins’ Crew Chief
“We lost a little bit of time yesterday due to John’s crash in practice, so today we focused on the sections of the circuit where he was suffering with a lack of rear grip. We made some improvements to this before running through several tyre combinations to finalise a choice for the race. We have some areas where we know we can make improvements in set-up for tomorrow, particularly to help John drive out of the turns. We have a good race pace and although we didn’t qualify where we would have liked on the grid, I am confident that the package will be strong. John is carrying an injury and he is obviously in a lot of discomfort but he always tries incredibly hard and gives us his maximum, so we can only be very thankful to him for that.”



1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'41.186; 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.083; 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.251; 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +0.385; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.423; 6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.634; 7. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +0.867; 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.179; 9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +1.241; 10. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.394; 14. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.633; 17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +3.372

[hoffy]

Awesome race...top ten from Hopper is a win for us..and Westy didn't come last ..... ROCK ON !!!!

[Six Addict]

vermulen had a good finish too!!! giving toseland a run for his money all the way!!!!

maybe u were right about randy hoffy... crashed out of 5th place... was looking good too....

[mick_dundee]

The song remains the same, 4 blokes that can win the championship IMO, top 3 and Lorenzo, Kwakas will finish last in the manufacturers championship, RdP will probably finish in hospital if not a morgue.

[photomike666]

live timing is on as we speak !!!!!!!! go to motogp.com

14 and 17 th there's something wrong with that zxrr !!! those 2 riders aint that bad it's the bike !

At least Randy could put it on the front row now and again !

he just had trouble finishing a race. Seems to get excited and drop it when he gets in a decent position.

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Catalunya
Date: 08/06/2008



INJURED HOPKINS FIGHTS FOR TOP TEN
John Hopkins demonstrated true grit and determination today at the Grand Prix of Catalunya to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in 10th position, despite carrying a back injury sustained in Friday’s practice.

Hopkins got a steady start to the 25-lap race and pushed as hard as possible, despite being unable to move around easily on his race machine, to make up positions around the 4.727km circuit. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot settled into a rhythm and circulated on his own for most of the race, riding through the pain barrier, to cross the line with a very creditable top ten finish.

Teammate Anthony West, who set his fastest lap of the entire weekend in the opening stages, endured a hard, race long fight with Marco Melandri to finish in a points-scoring 12th position.

The Australian switched positions with Melandri throughout the race in a nail-biting battle, but despite his persistence the 26-year-old was just beaten to the flag. West was upbeat about the result and he can now look forward to racing at Donington Park, which was where he made his premier class debut aboard the Kawasaki last season.

Depending on his condition, Hopkins will ride during tomorrow’s valuable post-race test to further develop his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR, whilst West will fly to Japan for a two-day test aimed at improving the power delivery of his machine.



Hopkins
#21 – 10th Position
“I’m in a lot of pain right now with my injury and that was a really hard race. I tried to pass a few people at the start, but I got boxed out and I lost some ground. I pushed as hard as I could to stay with the group ahead of me, but the pain set in and I had to really focus on settling into a rhythm. It was then a case of finding a way to ride without moving around too much on the machine to finish the race, and although tenth isn’t where I want to be, in this situation I’m pleased we managed to achieve that. We still have a lot of work to do with the bike, and hopefully we can be in a good condition for the next race in Britain.”


West
#13 - 12th Position
“I rode as hard as I possibly could today and I fought hard with Marco for the entire race. I passed him into the turns on many occasions, but his machine was a bit stronger on the straights and it just meant I had a lot of work to do each time he came by. The tyre went off a little in the last few laps, which meant I just didn’t quite have enough to re-take him before the finish. I’m happy we had a good race, but we still need to make big improvements to the set-up of the bike. I’m going to Japan for a test where I hope we can try to resolve the rear traction issues I’ve been suffering, then we’ll be back in Europe preparing for Donington Park and, hopefully, we can make another step forwards there.”



Kawasaki Competition Manager
“Hopefully this is a new start for us and I am happy that both riders finished the race today, as the last few rounds have been difficult. We need to concentrate on making improvements to the performance of the bike before the next race to provide the riders with the best package possible. Anthony will now spend some time testing in Japan where we have better resources to focus on improving the power delivery of his machine. John rode a hard race today with his injury and we are unsure yet if he’ll be able to complete many laps during tomorrow’s test. I hope he will be fit to ride and we can continue making steps forward, so that we can be even more competitive at Donington Park.”



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 43'02.175; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +2.806; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +3.343; 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +10.893; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +16.426; 6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +21.482; 7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +21.548; 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +22.280; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +22.375; 10. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +46.835; 11. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +57.991; 12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +59.168; 13. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team +1'00.779;

[photomike666]

Was a good ride from both Pedrosa and Rossi, with Stoner just making too many mistakes.

I think I know what is wrong with the Kwak bike now - it needs ZX9 midrange Honestly, if it had more midrange, but the same peak power it would have a more gentle power curve and therefore reduce the wheelspin on corner exit.

If only I knew what I was talking about it would sound good eh? lol

[Blurr]

with Stoner just making too many mistakes.

+1 seemed to battle with turn 5, running wide 2 times at that corner to drop a place each time. Post race interview Stoner questioned his tyre set up.