POSITIVE SIGNS FOR KAWASAKI IN AUSTRALIA
The second day of the GMC Australian Grand Prix finished
with qualifying practice this afternoon, which saw Kawasaki's
Randy de Puniet claim a second row start and Anthony West,
10th spot on the grid for tomorrow's race.
De Puniet completed 25 laps in qualifying and succeeded in
running a staggering 1'30.713 lap on race tyres: bearing in
mind Casey Stoner's leading lap, on combined times, of all
three earlier practices was 1'31.132, this bodes very well
for the 26-year-old Frenchman.
He put in his best lap on the first of his three Bridgestone
qualifying tyres, with a time of 1'30.110, putting him on
the second row behind Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi and
just 0.909 seconds behind pole sitter, Dani Pedrosa. He had
hoped for an even better position but, as always, it's the
race that counts and de Puniet's feeling justifiably confident.
At the last round at Motegi, in Japan, he enjoyed the taste
of success on the second step of the podium and will be hoping
for more of the same in Australia tomorrow.
Anthony West has also been busy perfecting his set up and
providing his crew with the feedback necessary to eliminate
some rear wheel spin he's been suffering during the weekend
so far. By the end of the day, he 26-year-old was happy with
improvements and is looking forward to Sunday's 27-lap battle.
The Australian, currently enjoying the support of his fellow
countrymen at his home round, put in his strongest time on
the second of his three qualifiers. With his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR
working better than ever, he clocked 1'30.649, putting him
at the front of the fourth row. Unfortunately, his final run
suffered as a result of a loss of traction at the front, which
threatened to spit him off: his foot slipped off the peg and
broke the rear fender in the process, frustrating West's efforts
to move further up the grid.
Settling for tenth on the start line doesn't come easily
to West, who is particularly keen to do well in front of his
Australian fans. Meanwhile, de Puniet's second row start will
ensure both Kawasaki riders will be as determined as ever
to ride a competitive race and gain some more valuable championship
points, both for themselves and for the team.
Randy De Puniet
#14 - 6th - Best Lap 1'30.110
"I'm a little bit disappointed because even just on race
tyres, I was very fast. Unfortunately I came across some traffic
in T2 on my last run out on qualifiers, and lost some time,
so it was impossible to improve my position on the grid. But
most importantly we've got a good race setting and tyre for
tomorrow; that's why I feel confident. If Anthony and I can
fight in the top eight, that would be great for all of us.
I like this track, and the bike's working well, so I really
hope I can repeat the success of Japan tomorrow."
Anthony West
#13 - 10th - Best Lap 1'30.649
"I thought I was going to be able to put in a faster
time on my last qualifying tyre but I nearly lost the front
at turn 10. My foot came off the peg as I was trying to save
it and nearly went in to the back wheel. It smashed the rear
mudguard though, so I was just lucky to stay on the bike.
One of those near misses… Anyway, the set up's looking
pretty good now: I did about ten laps on a race tyre, and
felt quite strong, so as long as no-one else goes too fast
it'll be alright!"
Fiorenzo Fanali
West Crew Chief
"We'll make a few slight changes for tomorrow's warm
up to help us with rear grip, which has been a bit of a problem
for us so far this weekend. We've had some spinning in the
rear, especially on the left hand side and on the last corner.
This afternoon we've tried a few different things in the set
up and with some little alterations I think we can perfect
it. Certainly, I hope we find better grip and I'm sure we
will. Anyway, Anthony's always particularly strong in the
race itself so hopefully we'll have a good result."
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'29.201; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing +0.218; 3. Casey Stoner
(AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.615; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol
Honda Team +0.731; 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro
Team +0.889; 6. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team
+0.909; 7. Alex Barros (BRA) Pramac d'Antin Ducati +1.124;
8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda +1.411; 9. Sylvain
Guintoli (FRA) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.420; 10. Anthony West (AUS)
Kawasaki Racing Team +1.448
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