Kawasaki Moto GP - Misano

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Misano
Date: 25/08/2008


CONFIDENT KAWASAKI HEAD FOR MISANO
Kawasaki's Anthony West and John Hopkins head for the Republic of San Marino and the Misano circuit for round 13 of the MotoGP World Championship in confident mood, after improvements to the Ninja ZX-RR led to a strong showing by both riders last time out at Brno.

Anthony West secured a career best finish with fifth place in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, and after making further steps forward with the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR during the post race test at the Brno circuit, the 27-year-old Kawasaki pilot heads for Misano determined to continue his run of form into this weekend's Grand Prix Di San Marino E Della Riviera Di Rimini.

Although not one of his favourite circuits, the Misano track has proved a happy hunting ground for West in the past. In 2007 the Australian took victory in the first World Supersport race at the revamped circuit, before joining the Kawasaki Racing Team and returning to the Republic of San Marino to take a hard fought eighth place finish in last year's MotoGP race. West returns to Misano this year determined to finish top ten once again.

John Hopkins looked like a likely candidate for a podium finish after qualifying on the front row and then making a strong start in the Czech Republic Grand Prix less than one week ago. Unfortunately for the Anglo-American, a gamble on tyres didn't pay off and, after running at the front up to the halfway point, Hopkins was forced to drop back to finish 11th at the flag after struggling with rear traction.

The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot sat out the two-day, post race test at Brno due to a minor, but painful, rib injury sustained in a practice crash. Now fully fit once again, Hopkins is confident that the upgrades to his Ninja ZX-RR made ahead of the Brno race will give him the competitive package he needs to fight for his, so far elusive, first podium finish for Kawasaki this weekend in San Marino.

The Misano circuit features many fast-flowing sections along with slower combinations that test machine and rider skill to the maximum. The track is incredibly bumpy in places, and with the sometimes stifling heat of the Adriatic coast, a good tyre choice for durability throughout the race will be an essential factor. The MotoGP weekend always has an electric atmosphere, generated by the passionate Italian fans that venture to see the racing action in their thousands.


West
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"I am looking forward to going to Misano following my best ever result in MotoGP last time out at Brno. We had a positive post-race test there, and we managed to make further improvements to the bike, which has certainly made it easier to ride. I hope that we can continue with our development this weekend because I am determined for us to be fighting for more strong results in the dry. I have spent the last few days in Italy, where I've been out cycling, so I feel relaxed and ready to take on the challenge. There's a good atmosphere at this circuit, but after last year's washout on the opening practice day, the weather could play a really big part in proceedings."


Hopkins
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
"We had a positive weekend in Brno following my return to the track after a long absence through injury and we managed to put the Kawasaki on the front row. Although I didn't quite achieve the result we were hoping for, Anthony got into the top five, which just shows that the Kawasaki is improving all of the time and is capable of gaining good results. I really enjoy the Misano circuit, I managed to get on the podium there last year so it's certainly a track I like. I've spent the last week in Miami resting and training just to give the injuries that I am still carrying the best possible time to recuperate, so I'm feeling stronger and ready to achieve the results we are more than capable of."

[ty]

Finger's crossed - but not holding my breath

[sneakypete]

everyone...let us pray.

[red_dave]

Lets hope they continue the form from last weeks race...

[Jeebz10R]

Gooo team green!

Hope Hoppers can get up there this week and Westy to better his result last round!

I wanna see a Kwak on the podium dammit!

[Possum]

Id be worried if they werent confident
Lets hope they can pull it all together..
Enough yap...Go make em green with envy...

[Jeebz10R]

WTF. I didnt think the Kwakas would go THIS bad. Westy ?! On shit note looks like WHOREBAG has found his marbles again to sit at number three. Lucky for Stoner his team mate has improved in placements to play the supportive role, from bottom spots to sit 15th on the grid
Hope Elias can spin it up a few spots to be the proverbial pain to Rossi.

GP CINZANO DI SAN MARINO E RIVIERA DI RIMINI
MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'33.378 271.629
2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'33.888 267.194 0.510
3 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'33.964 269.730 0.586
4 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'34.236 263.865 0.858
5 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team Ducati 1'34.322 274.739 0.944
6 2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'34.398 273.833 1.020
7 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'34.461 263.414 1.083
8 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'34.494 267.857 1.116
9 52 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1'34.652 266.009 1.274
10 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1'34.795 268.189 1.417
11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'34.926 266.600 1.548
12 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team Ducati 1'34.961 273.833 1.583
13 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'35.153 264.705 1.775
14 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda 1'35.381 262.518 2.003
15 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'35.418 269.461 2.040
16 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'35.584 270.000 2.206
17 21 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'35.980 264.187 2.602
18 13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'37.047 265.095 3.669

[Ticketyman]

That sucks ! The arse end is all green, maybe it's a blessing in disguise they don't have three bikes on the grid.

[ty]

[dilligaf]

but they didn't fall off

[throttlejockey]

John Hopkins qualified 2nd last & Ant West last.
& they are giving Westy the arse?

WTF??!!

Hopkins from all reports doesnt give a fu(%, as he was still so blind from partying that he didnt front up for free practice (on TV they said he 'sat out') & almost got the chop from qualifying!!!!!!!!

West tries his heart out on a bike built around Hoppa, cant ride it fast as it feels as though its gonna kill him every corner, yet because he is not the 'golden boy' has the axe swung his way..... fu(k%4$ f&^! WH??":^@#

PLUS
its official;
the coverage on free to air channel 10 is better then fox for live coverage.
i just watched both.
on fox the race became boring after .....
but on 10, with 3 aussies giving commentary including daryl beattie & troy bayliss, damn man it was more interesting to listen to!!
i mean watch.......

obvioulsy the local component of the voice over is better, but crap! 3 poms bored me to death on fox...

[ZXR750]

John Hopkins qualified 2nd last & Ant West last.
& they are giving Westy the arse?

WTF??!!

Hopkins from all reports doesnt give a fu(%, as he was still so blind from partying that he didnt front up for free practice (on TV they said he 'sat out') & almost got the chop from qualifying!!!!!!!!

West tries his heart out on a bike built around Hoppa, cant ride it fast as it feels as though its gonna kill him every corner, yet because he is not the 'golden boy' has the axe swung his way..... fu(k%4$ f&^! WH??":^@#

PLUS
its official;
the coverage on free to air channel 10 is better then fox for live coverage.
i just watched both.
on fox the race became boring after .....
but on 10, with 3 aussies giving commentary including daryl beattie & troy bayliss, damn man it was more interesting to listen to!!
i mean watch.......

obvioulsy the local component of the voice over is better, but crap! 3 poms bored me to death on fox...

I though Troy Bayliss was very boring. If he is going to continue to commentate he needs some enthusiasum in his voice.

[Jeebz10R]

Official results for the race, team gree - last of the upright bikes

GP CINZANO DI SAN MARINO E RIVIERA DI RIMINI
MotoGP Race Classification
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 44'41.884 158.836
2 20 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 44'45.047 158.649 3.163
3 16 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team Ducati 44'53.589 158.146 11.705
4 13 2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 44'59.354 157.808 17.470
5 11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 45'05.293 157.461 23.409
6 10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 45'08.092 157.299 26.208
7 9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 45'08.708 157.263 26.824
8 8 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda 45'09.475 157.218 27.591
9 7 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 45'15.053 156.895 33.169
10 6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 45'18.413 156.702 36.529
11 5 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team Ducati 45'23.965 156.382 42.081
12 4 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 45'25.692 156.283 43.808
13 3 13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 45'36.758 155.651 54.874
14 2 21 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 45'37.038 155.635 55.154
Not classified
1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 11'11.968 21 Lap
15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'46.395 27 Lap
Not finished 1st lap
14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda
Not starting
69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Misano
Date: 31/08/2008


TOUGH WEEKEND AT MISANO ENDS WITH POINTS
Kawasaki's Anthony West and John Hopkins brought their Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machines home in the points during this afternoon's Grand Prix of Cinzano Di San Marino E Riviera Di Rimini. But, despite the points haul, both riders were frustrated not to have finished further up the field, especially after such a promising performance with the evolution version of Kawasaki's MotoGP racer last time out in Brno.

Both riders made a determined start to the race from the back row of the grid, as West fought his way through to 12th position and Hopkins moved up to 14th by the end of the first lap of the Misano circuit. The Kawasaki duo exchanged places numerous times with fellow competitors in the opening stages, before settling into a rhythm with West in 13th position and Hopkins a place behind.

West concentrated on lapping consistently around the 4.20km circuit, despite still battling with a lack of confidence, a problem that has plagued him throughout practice and qualifying. The 27-year-old Australian set his fastest time of the weekend on lap 20 of 28 and managed to hold off teammate Hopkins to take 13th place at the chequered flag.

A recovering Hopkins, who was sidelined from the two hour-long practice sessions on Friday through injury complications, made the best of the setting he had after a reduced amount of time on circuit. Having sat out the post-race test in Brno, the 25-year-old has been severely disadvantaged with little track time to find a more usable set-up for Kawasaki's upgraded Ninja ZX-RR.

Hopkins is confident that, given time to refine his setup during tomorrow's test, he will head into the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, at Indianapolis, with a much better feeling for Kawasaki's upgraded Ninja ZX-RR.



West
#13 - 13th Position
"I just didn't have the confidence to push the front all weekend, and I couldn't found a solution to this, which was obviously reflected in our result today. On a positive note we did manage to set the fastest lap time of the weekend in the race, and had we been further up the grid, I am sure we could have been battling for stronger positions. John and I were locked together for most of the race and although I had to push quite hard, I managed to hold him off to the flag. At the post-race test in Brno we tried a revised specification front tyre from Bridgestone, which definitely was an improvement, but we couldn't get it to work comfortably with the bike here, so this is an area we need to concentrate on as I believe this can help us achieve better results."


Hopkins
#21 – 14th Position
"This weekend has been frustratingly tough for us. Having aggravated the injury to my rib we missed two sessions and basically ran out of time to set the bike up. We got a good start to the race, but I was suffering with quite a lot of discomfort from the injury and I just couldn't push as hard as I wanted to. We're struggling with a few problems with the front-end feeling, but again, that's simply down to a lack of track time. All of the other Bridgestone riders are on a different specification tyre, and this is something we need time to test as I think it will make a big difference for us. I'm having some intense treatment overnight and hopefully we can get plenty of laps under our belt tomorrow to put us in better stead for my home race in Indianapolis."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"Today has been difficult for us, and this result is not what we had expected after Brno. Anthony has struggled with a lack of confidence all weekend and, although he set his fastest lap of all of the sessions during the race, it wasn't enough to bridge the gap to the other riders. John lost out on a lot of track time this weekend, so he was always going to be at a disadvantage today. After suffering with so many challenges lately, he is quite down. It's always tough coming back from an injury, but he knows that he needs to put that behind him, get his head down and get on with securing the results we know he's capable of. I hope he can take advantage of tomorrow's test to catch up on the set-up time he's lost through injury, because a successful test will be just the thing to motivate him for the next race in Indianapolis."



1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 44'41.884; 2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +3.163; 3. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team +11.705; 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +17.470; 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +23.409; 6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +26.208; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +26.824; 8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +27.591; 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +33.169; 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +36.529; 13. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +54.874; 14. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +55.154

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Misano
Date: 01/09/2008


KAWASAKI CONTINUES DEVELOPMENT AT MISANO
Kawasaki's John Hopkins and Anthony West returned to the Misano circuit today for a one-day post-race test, to continue development of their upgraded Ninja ZX-RR race machines.

Hopkins was keen to make up for track time lost recently to his Assen and Brno injuries, and spent the five hours on track running through an extensive test programme, concentrating particularly on improving the front-end stability of his machine.

The 25-year-old Anglo-American worked mainly on enhancing his set-up to accommodate a newer specification Bridgestone front tyre option that many of the MotoGP front-runners now use. This brought a new direction for the team, but with only a short time out on track today, he will not be able to add it to his tyre allocation without further set-up development of his Ninja ZX-RR. The Kawasaki pilot spent the last few hours refining the chassis setting of his machine using his current tyre options, and ended the day confident of improvements.

West used the time on track to eradicate the front-end problems that have hampered his progress at this circuit. The 27-year-old Australian worked closely with his crew to test various different chassis components, and, although he has not managed to find a complete solution to the confidence issues that have stopped him from pushing the front of his Ninja ZX-RR harder, he has made significant steps forward in set-up.

Along with the changes to his chassis set-up, West also tested different tyre options and found an improvement in the agility of his machine. The Kawasaki pilot noted an increased amount of front-end grip into the turns, which has enabled to achieve a better lap time than during the race weekend.




Hopkins
#21: 69 Laps - 1'35.879
"Today we had a lot of work to do as I've missed so much time on track recently. Our focus was mainly on the front-end of the machine, and we have refined our setting from this weekend by changing the way the chassis is set up. We also started work on using a Bridgestone front tyre option that both Valentino (Rossi) and Casey (Stoner) use. This meant we had to alter the bike a lot, but we are now the only team using the old type of tyre, basically because we've not had any chance to test. This new specification tyre is definitely the future for us, but unfortunately it can't be in my allocation until we're completely happy with the way the machine handles with it. I'm pleased with the results of today's test, but still have a lot of catching up to do with the upgraded bike. I'm really excited about Indianapolis, particularly as it's my home round, and we'll be looking to achieve strong results there."


West
#13: 76 Laps - 1'36.101
"We've basically spent the test time today trying to improve the feedback from the front-end of the bike. We also tried a different swing-arm, but this didn't really make any significant difference for us. We have some more direction with how we can move forward with the front-end troubles and I felt a lot more confident going into the turns, which resulted in a quicker lap time than we managed in the race. We also evaluated a few different Bridgestone tyre options, and the conclusion is positive, but we still have more work to do. I'm looking forward to Indianapolis, particularly because it's an even field as no-one has previous track experience there, and we'll be looking to gain a strong finish."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"It's been a useful day testing for us here at Misano. With John we spent most of the day using different tyre options and altered his machine set-up, which has been an improvement over the lap times we could achieve at the weekend. Anthony tested some different chassis components and we've been trying to improve our package to make it easier for him to turn his machine. Overall it's been a positive test, but we still have a lot of development to do over the next few races."



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'34.652; 2. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.794; 3. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.227; 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +1.320; 5. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.449; 6. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.468