Kawasaki Moto GP news.! - Melandri to Kwaka

[MadKaw]

Just got off the phone from my source of things motorcycling (Phil) and the hot tip is that Melandri will join Kawasaki Moto GP team after the US round.!!
It seems Ducati are happy to let him go and he is eager to jump on the Kwaka.!!
They will run 3 bikes till the end of the year and its looks like Westy will be out for 2009.
That may only be the case if the Melandri has better results but it doesn't look like they will run 3 riders next year, so someones gotta go.

The othere interesting news was Melandri will be replace at Ducati by........



Gibernau.!!!!!

Its all in the latest AMCN - out tomorrow....

[Wattie]

fark me!!

[Makybe05]

oooooo, big news! what a scoop.

[MadKaw]

From crash.net

Kawasaki has confirmed that John Hopkins will not be fit enough to compete in the next two MotoGP rounds, but have added that Marco Melandri will not be replacing him.

Hopkins is to go under the knife for the leg injuries he sustained in his high-speed crash at the Assen TT, surgery that will therefore rule him out of the coming rounds at the Sachsenring and his home event at Laguna Seca.

"He needs to have an operation, according to Dr Ting, because the tibia is still a little bit dislocated and he would like to correct this," Kawasaki Racing competition manager Michael Bartholemy told the official MotoGP website.



"Also he would like to perform some surgery on the knee because there was a big compression on that area. Dr Ting has said that for now John will not be able to ride at Laguna Seca."

Attention has now turned to who will replace Hopkins at the American round after Kawasaki confirmed they will not be able to find a rider in time for next week's German Grand Prix.

Currently, Kawasaki is expected to lean towards hiring an AMA rider for the weekend, with Bartholemy revealing that Chaz Davies, Roger Lee Hayden and Jamie Hacking top his list of candidates.

"Basically for Germany we would like to keep the bike free because it will be difficult to find anybody. But our idea for Laguna would be to put one of our American-based riders on the bike, maybe Jamie Hacking, Roger Lee Hayden or Chaz Davies."

What is certain though is that Melandri won't be making the surprise switch from Ducati, where he has endured a tough season thus far. Although Bartholemy admitted that the rumours of Kawasaki approaching Melandri are true, he adds that it was dependant on him finding a solution with his current employers which he wasn't able to do.

"I said to him [Melandri] after I knew how bad John's injuries were, and told him that we have a bike free for the next two events, but that he would have to find a solution with Ducati, to get out of his contract. This is not a Kawasaki matter. But now they have told me that he will continue with Ducati for the next two races for sure."

However, unless there is a radical upturn in performance over the next two rounds, Melandri is still expected to separate from Ducati after Laguna Seca, leaving the former MotoGP World Championship runner-up free to pursue a Kawasaki seat from Brno onwards.

Melandri's former Gresini Honda team-mate Sete Gibernau is expected to replace Marco should the Italian leave.

[Tinman]

WOWWWW

[MadKaw]

From MC News..

Italian Marco Melandri will have to wait for his chance to ride Kawasaki’s factory ZX-RR after he was unable to end his Ducati nightmare in time for the German GP.

As reported in yesterday’s MCN, Melandri had tried to get released from his Ducati contract to replace injured John Hopkins in the German and American GP clashes on July 13 and 20 respectively.

But Kawasaki has just confirmed that Melandri won't be riding a ZX-RR in the next two races.

Kawasaki were willing to let the former world 250 champion ride alongside Aussie Anthony West in the next two races, and had cleared the move with Hopkins while he recovers from a broken ankle and tibia he suffered in a massive 175mph crash in Assen.

But Ducati have blocked Melandri’s request to quit just nine races into his two-year Ducati deal, and insist that he continues to ride the GP8 on which has struggled woefully on in 2008.

Factory team boss Livio Suppo told MCN last weekend in Assen that Melandri’s situation would be assessed again after the Laguna Seca clash.

Melandri is still likely to split from Ducati after Laguna Seca and he could still end up riding a factory ZX-RR when the summer break ends for the Czech Republic GP in Brno on August 17.

Kawasaki is unlikely to ditch West to make way for Melandri, though it might consider using its test ZX-RR to accommodate Melandri. It is also understood that any deal to race this season will include a permanent deal for 2009.

[MadKaw]

and this is the Official Kawasaki news...

Circuit: Worldwide
Date: 08/07/2008


HOPKINS SIDELINED FOR SACHSENRING AND LAGUNA
Kawasaki's John Hopkins will sit out the German and US Grand Prix races, after further medical checks revealed the injuries he sustained in a high-speed qualifying crash at Assen would require corrective surgery before he can return to action.

Hopkins crashed at 230km/h towards the end of qualifying for the Dutch TT, after losing the front of his Ninja ZX-RR at Ramshoek corner, the ultra-fast left-hander just before the final chicane. The Kawasaki pilot slid across the track and through the gravel trap before colliding feet first with the tyre wall on the outside of the turn.

X-rays of his injured left leg at the circuit medical centre revealed that Hopkins had sustained a fracture to the bottom of his tibia and that he had reopened a previous fracture, the result of a crash earlier in his racing career. The x-rays also showed a fracture to the lateral malleolus, which is one of the bones at the top of the ankle.

Hopkins had a further medical examination by Dr. Art Ting on his return to America last week. In addition to confirming the previously diagnosed fractures, a bone scan of the injured left leg also revealed a tibial plateau fracture just below the knee, and damage to the meniscus (cartilage), which was causing Hopkins' knee joint to lock.

Hopkins underwent successful surgery in Los Angeles on Monday to reset the bones in his ankle. During the operation, the meniscus in his left knee was also repaired and attached to the bone using keyhole surgery techniques.

As a result of the surgery Hopkins will not be able to bear any weight on his damaged left leg for three weeks, after which he will undergo extensive rehabilitation therapy, with a full recovery from his injuries expected to take between six to eight weeks in total.

The current goal is for Hopkins to make his return to racing at the Czech Republic Grand Prix, which takes place on 17 August.


Kawasaki Competition Manager
"I am sorry for John, as I know he was looking forward to racing in front of his home crowd at Laguna Seca, where he always enjoys a lot of support. But it's just not possible; he has had surgery to fix the injuries he sustained at Assen, and now he needs sufficient recovery time to ensure that he's fully fit before he makes his racing return. Obviously we are hoping that this return will come at the Czech Republic Grand Prix, but we will be monitoring John's recovery very closely and we have no intention of putting him back on the bike before he's ready. If this means he doesn't race at Brno, then that's how it will be, because we don't want to risk making things worse by allowing him to return before he is fully recovered. Now we know the full extent of John's injuries we are looking at the possibility of running a replacement rider at Laguna Seca. We will make a further announcement about this ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix."

[red_dave]

I'm a bit unsure of this move...

I'm a Melandri fan but his form has been shite on the Duc.

[sneakypete]

and i would hate for Melandri to get Westy's seat... ZXRR has been crap compared to last year, neither Hopper or Westy are competitive on it unless its wet. but i do hope Marco can get a good ride...been a fan since his 125 days.

then again, maybe Melandri will be the rocket Westy needs to somehow finds that 2 seconds per lap he lacks....they've been battling all year and it would be interesting to see results on same machinery

...maybe ducati/kawasaki could do a rider swap for 2009?

[Nanna10r]

I'm with Dave5 on this one, Kwaka NEED someone who can set up a bike from scratch.

Melandri had the well travelled & information sharing Honda when he was winning, I'd be surprised if he can do as well as Hopkins on it. Westy has sealed his fate this year. He should of been pushing harder earlier in the season. no pint crashing the sucka now. The Weather hasn't helped him with every race this year being DRY.
2cs Nanna

[Blurr]

agreed I wouldnt like to see westy go just yet. but they do need an experienced rider to help westy start providing feedback about bike setups.

[swabio-ACT]

I'm a bit unsure of this move...

I'm a Melandri fan but his form has been shite on the Duc.

hmmmm True .....but only one Duc rider is really performing and even he is not having the same run as last year

Oh and I hope if Westy doesn't get a GP ride next season that he can score another SS or perhaps a SBK saddle! Otherwise he maybe pretty much rooted!

[ZXR750]

I am a big fan of Marco and he is very quick. His ability to set up a bike is the obvious down fall. Sadly I think he will be very similar to Westy and Hopper. Either finish at the back or crash trying to do better.
I think there are only a hand full of riders in MotoGP that know how to set up a bike. Perhaps a bigger effort in trying to obtain a quality test rider or two with experience in setting up the ride maight be more beneficial.
Saying that it will be good to see three green bikes going around in the second half of the year. This may make Kawasaki think about a satalite team for the near future. (but that probably wont happen).

[mick_dundee]

fark me!!

Pass, and I was just thinking about the Gibbersook the other day, kinda fell off the planet for 2 years

[matchan]

bloody hell, the 3 amigos, Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Gibbernau, who will you boo the loudest ?