Kawasaki Moto GP - Jerez

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Jerez
Date: 24/03/2008


EUROPE CALLING
MotoGP is heading to Jerez this weekend for the first European round of this year's world championship. After the historic opening race at Qatar, held at night earlier this month, the premier class teams return to Spain for what is always one of the most popular events of the calendar.

The Kawasaki Racing Team, fielding riders John Hopkins and Anthony West, is looking forward to getting stuck in to another round and, having recently visited the circuit for the official IRTA test in February, where it ran the latest incarnation of the remarkable Ninja ZX-RR, hopes are high for some good results.

Hopkins, while still not completely recovered from a muscular injury sustained in a crash in Australia in January, nonetheless feels more than ready for another race, having had some time since Qatar to concentrate on his rehabilitation.

West remains disheartened by a disappointing opening round but will not allow that to affect him as the practice sessions begin at the end of this week. The Queenslander is more determined than ever to make his mark.

The Jerez circuit first hosted MotoGP in 1987, a year after its construction, and the championship has made an annual pilgrimage to the track (it is always the venue for the first European round of the year) since 1989.

Situated in south west Spain, not far from the coastal city of Cadiz and on the outskirts of Jerez de la Frontera, it is a popular venue for both motorcycle and Formula 1 testing during the winter months.

It has a complex layout, offering riders a real challenge. It boasts 13 turns over its 4.42km distance, so teams will be looking to set the bikes up for some hard braking with shorter, sharper bursts of power out of the corners. Given the circuit's curvaceous nature, the machines spend much of their time at an angle, so the Kawasaki squad, along with their tyre partners Bridgestone, will aim for good stability and drive.

As the 18 riders who make up the 2008 grid take their places for Sunday's 27 lap race, there will no doubt be a very substantial crowd there to watch them. Last year, Jerez saw 132,168 spectators visit the circuit on race day with a staggering 244,461 fans attending during the whole of the weekend.

Practice sessions begin on Friday and continue, along with qualifying, on Saturday, with the race itself starting on Sunday afternoon at 2pm local time.


Hopkins
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
"The abductor muscle I tore at Phillip Island in January still isn't completely fixed but everything's going okay and I've been training hard. I've been in Miami, the sun's been out and I've been taking care of myself before Jerez. We've had some more MRI scans done, which show the injury is still definitely there, unfortunately, but it's not been keeping me from working on my fitness. Despite the muscle problem, I really feel 100% ready for the race and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm definitely going to improve on the position I got at Qatar. We'll work on tyre choice and a good set up and it'll be great to head back to Europe to race."

West
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"I really wasn't happy with my performance at Qatar. Riding around at the back isn't why I'm here and I need to get it together. My confidence was shot when I crashed a couple of times and, after that, I never really found my pace. My main aim is essentially to raise my game. I need to have more faith in the bike and the set up, especially when it comes to turning it in to the corners. This is a weak spot for me, of sorts. Still, I'm really looking forward to the Jerez race. I really want to prove myself and I'm hoping this is where I can start doing that."

[Wattie]

especially when it comes to turning it in to the corners. This is a weak spot for me, of sorts.

i thought he woulda had "turning" down pat by now...

maybe i have much to learn...

[mfzx6r]

especially when it comes to turning it in to the corners. This is a weak spot for me, of sorts.

i thought he woulda had "turning" down pat by now...

maybe i have much to learn...

Hopkins has more problem than Westy I'd say ... With a torn abductor muscle , and he's not married long, means he'd find it very hard to get a woody !

[mfzx6r]

Not long now

MotoGP 2008 - Round Two - Jerez (Spain)




MotoGP 2008 - Round Two - Jerez (Spain) - Day 2 - Kawasaki Report

An agreeably warm and sunny Jerez today hosted the qualifying session for the second round of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship and the afternoon kept a significant crowd of race fans, gathered for the event, on the edge of their seats.

Kawasaki's John Hopkins managed to take his Ninja ZX-RR to ninth on the grid with a very respectable time of 1'39.439, just over a second off pole man, Jorge Lorenzo's extraordinary record-breaking lap.

It was a great showing for Hopkins, who yesterday crashed at the end of the fast back straight. He and his crew had been forced to play catch-up in tyre testing after the reduced amount of laps the Anglo-American had been able to do at the IRTA test at Jerez in February, due to injury.

Hopkins is the third of only three Bridgestone-shod riders in the top ten of the time sheets, with current world champion, Casey Stoner, and Valentino Rossi ahead of him, after Michelin appeared to dominate somewhat. However, only Sunday's race will reveal whether that dominance will extend from qualifying tyres to race tyres.

During yesterday's sessions, Hopkins' team mate, Anthony West, had problems with stability in the circuit's numerous heavy braking zones and with traction coming out of the corners. By the end of the day, his crew chief, Juan Martinez, indicated that some changes would be made to the set up before the start of today's practice.

Consequently, West had taken a large chunk out of his best time from yesterday by only his third lap of the qualifying session but then went on to massively reduce even that, eventually putting in a time of 1'40.088 on his second to last lap of the day, to claim 15th position on the grid.

The qualifying hour was certainly a nail-biting one. Premier class rookie, Lorenzo, repeatedly bettered his own record-breaking times to finally settle for a staggering 1'38.189 lap, to the amazement of onlookers.

Further entertainment was also supplied by Colin Edwards. After losing control of his Yamaha, the American, who looked absolutely certain to run off the track in a haze of gravel, picked the bike up with his knee, kept it on the circuit and managed to wave in jubilation to the ecstatic crowd in one, flowing manoeuvre. And Kawasaki's own John Hopkins used an elbow to stabilise the ZX-RR in a scary moment!

Hopkins
#21: 9th – 26 laps – 1'39.439
"I'm reasonably happy with today as we're on the third row. To be honest, the fastest qualifying lap we did wasn't the best as I lost the front going into one of the long fast right turns, so I know we had the potential to go even quicker. I ended up scraping my elbow but I managed to pick the bike up and get the power down to make a fairly decent lap time. The tyre choice for the race is a bit of a gamble, as we've only had a few laps on it due to the lack of testing, but I'm confident that with Bridgestone's help we have made a good decision. The machine set-up feels good and my injury is much better so tomorrow we have to get away from the start well and fight for a good finish."

West
#13: 15th – 25 laps – 1'40.088
"The qualifying session has given us some inspiration as we've managed to slash our lap times by a huge amount. I am disappointed not to be further up the grid, and the position isn't quite where we would like to be, but at least we are making progress. The qualifying tyre gave me a lot of confidence as the machine was much more stable, we could turn into the corners better and this enabled us to achieve a reasonable lap time. The rest of the field is within our grasp now and although it's going to be very tough out there tomorrow, I'm looking forward to racing."

Kawasaki Technical Manager
"John, Anthony and the team have worked hard today and although the grid positions aren't fantastic, I am happy that we are moving forwards. John has had to play catch-up, as he didn't get much time testing here; however, with a good start I am sure he can gain a strong result. Anthony may not have the best grid position but his lap time is, comparatively, much better than at the first race at Qatar and, step-by-step, he is getting there. Our main aim for the race is to collect as much data as possible so we can optimise the machine and tyre set-up to make our package stronger."



MotoGP 2008 - Round Two - Jerez (Spain)
Day 2 - Times - Reports - Dorna - Ducati - HRC - Kawasaki - Suzuki - Yamaha - Bridgestone - Michelin
Day 1 - Times - Reports - Dorna - Ducati - HRC - Kawasaki - Suzuki - Yamaha - Bridgestone

[Benno]

Yamaha on pole!

[Stace]

Yamaha on pole!

Yamaha SHIT!!!! Get with the program Benno

[MadKaw]

Circuit: Jerez
Date: 30/03/2008


SUN SHINES ON KAWASAKI AT JEREZ
The Spanish Grand Prix was held today at the Andalucian circuit of Jerez and both Kawasaki Racing Team riders, John Hopkins and Anthony West, showed off their skill and determination by managing seventh and 13th positions respectively.

After a solid start from the third row of the grid, Hopkins was right in the thick of the action near the front of the field. Soon however, eventual race-winner, Dani Pedrosa, took off with a small selection of riders, leaving the #21 racer in an impressive group which stayed virtually intact until the end of the 27 lap event.

Showing no sign of pain from his groin injury and steering his Ninja ZX-RR expertly around the complex, 4.423km circuit, Hopkins battled to the last, seeing off Shinya Nakano and former Suzuki team mate, Chris Vermeulen, in the process. In a nail-biting finale, there was a last corner scrap for places with Loris Capirossi, James Toseland, and Andrea Dovizioso, and a delighted Kawasaki squad looked on as Hopkins got seventh spot, bringing his points total after two races to 13 and putting him ninth in the championship.

Further down the field, Anthony West was engaged in a race-long battle with Marco Melandri and Alex de Angelis. The 27-year-old Australian had also managed a good start, soon finding himself in 13th place after rising two positions during the first lap. By the end of lap three, he had progressed to 11th but lost that to 2007 world champion, Casey Stoner, who was having to catch up with the field after a an earlier error had forced him off the track.

West was then overtaken by Marco Melandri and the two diced for the rest of the race with West finally missing out on 12th but, like his team mate, he fought until the end, holding off a last gasp attempt to overtake him by de Angelis.

The Kawasaki Racing Team will now undertake further testing at Jerez before the championship continues on 13th April at Estoril, Portugal.



Hopkins
#21 – 7th
"We took a gamble on the race tyre we used today as we've only completed two timed laps on it previously and, thankfully, we made a good decision. I got a good start to the race but went backwards a few places on lap one. I was pushing hard to make a pass on lap four when I made a mistake and lost a few positions, so I gritted my teeth and pushed hard to stay with the group in front. I was riding consistently throughout the race but, by the time the last lap arrived, I was sliding quite a lot on the rear tyre. I was right with Toseland and Dovizioso when they had a coming together in the final part of the race, which left the door open for me to make up another position. Although I'm pleased with the result, we still have a lot of work to do. My injury is feeling much better and now we have some test time so can continue the process of getting the Kawasaki to the top of the field."


West
#13 – 13th
"I gave it my all today and to be honest it was hard work. The result is a big improvement since the last round, although we're still struggling with a lack of rear traction. I got a good start to the race and I was trying to be as smooth as possible but, once the tyre went off, this became quite difficult. During my battle with Melandri, I felt much faster than him and I easily re-passed him on a few occasions. He managed to pass me in the last few laps and, despite pushing really hard, I just didn't have enough grip to get by him again. The front end of the bike felt good, entry and mid corner I was a lot faster than everyone else, but we're losing a lot of time in the exit of some corners so that is the area we need to focus on. Hopefully, with the test time we have, we can make another step forward before reaching Estoril."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"I am happy with the result today: both riders rode very hard and we have achieved much better positions than last time out. John is still not completely comfortable on the bike with his injury but both he and Anthony were fighting right until the end of the race. Jerez is not one of our favourite circuits, as we've struggled here in the past, but we have to work hard to try and improve even further before the next round. We now have some test time in the next two days where John will try some front tyre options and he will also be given the opportunity to ride the 'screamer' machine. Anthony and our test rider, Olivier Jacque, have similar riding styles so they will work together to try and find a better base setting to race with."



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 45'35.121; 2. Valentino Rossi (46) Fiat Yamaha +2.883; 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +4.339; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +10.142; 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +27.524; 6. James Toseland (GBR) Yamaha Tech 3 +27.808; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +28.296; 8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scott +28.449; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini +32.569; 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +35.091; 11. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +42.223; 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +44.498; 13. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +45.807

[Makybe05]

They mentioned the 'screamer' engine for the zx 10r during the telecast and on the kwaka site, just wondering what all the fuss is about? They seem to be have some troubles too with rear wheel traction, hopefully they can get that sorted with the Jerez testing there doing this week.

[red_dave]

They mentioned the 'screamer' engine for the zx 10r during the telecast and on the kwaka site,

If they were riding ZX10R's they'd be complaining about lack of mid-range... not traction

[robracer]

Nothing quite like a "screamer"
http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... r_gp_racer

[Makybe05]

They mentioned the 'screamer' engine for the zx 10r during the telecast and on the kwaka site,

If they were riding ZX10R's they'd be complaining about lack of mid-range... not traction

Sorry noob mistake, certainly sounds interesting though.

[Neka79]

They mentioned the 'screamer' engine for the zx 10r during the telecast and on the kwaka site,

If they were riding ZX10R's they'd be complaining about lack of mid-range... not traction

yea theyd be better off running zx9r donks!!