Estoril Race
HOPKINS ON A HIGH AFTER ESTORIL
The Portuguese Grand Prix took place today at Estoril and
Kawasaki rider, John Hopkins, claimed his best ever finish
at the circuit. The 24-year-old Anglo American rode over the
line in fifth position after 28 laps, giving him his first
top five position at Estoril, which is famously hard on bikes,
riders and tyres.
However, Hopkins, his Ninja ZX-RR and the Bridgestone rubber
he was running, all held up against the violent assault of
the gruelling race. His ride also provided him with his best
finish so far since joining Kawasaki, beating his previous
highest placing, a seventh, at Jerez last month.
Meanwhile, team mate Anthony West, fared less well, passing
the chequered flag in a disappointing 16th position after
struggling to find his form. He will now aim to up his game
and claim some much-needed points in the forthcoming rounds
after further testing at Estoril tomorrow.
The next race is at Shanghai in two weeks' time. It will
be Hopkins' centenary round in MotoGP so with that to celebrate,
and buoyed by today's excellent result, he will no doubt be
looking to emulate his podium finish at the Chinese circuit
last year. But on a green bike this time!
john Hopkins
5th Position
"I'm really pleased as my aim was for a top five finish
today. I got a really good start and the first lap was quite
frantic as I went around the outside of a few riders, before
settling into a rhythm with the leading pack. There was a
bit of rain to contend with in the opening laps and I made
some small mistakes, which caused me to drop back a little.
Around halfway, the grip level dropped but I raced as hard
as possible as Casey Stoner was closing the gap between us.
Our main area to improve on is qualifying, as we keep giving
ourselves a lot of work to do in the race by having a poor
grid position. I'm looking forward to Shanghai: the Kawasaki
will be better suited to it and we can hopefully achieve an
even stronger result there."
Anthony West
16th Position
"What can I say about today that the result doesn't already
say for me? It would be easy to say I'm disappointed but,
if I'm completely honest, the main feeling is one of intense
frustration. I just can't seem to get the bike to work for
me; all weekend it's felt nervous and it's constantly moving
around. I can ride round the problems on the straights and
into the turns but I'm losing massive amounts of time on the
exit, where the bike feels like it's going to throw me off
if I so much as touch the throttle. John doesn't seem to have
the same problem, which just makes it doubly frustrating.
We'll aim to find a solution during testing tomorrow, because
I'm not here to run around at the back of the field."
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
"To finish fifth here is superb as Estoril is not a place
we've been particularly strong at in the past. John rode a
fantastic race and he was also the second Bridgestone rider
to cross the line. Now I hope we can continue to move forward
at the next race, where the track is more suited to our Ninja
ZX-RR and our Bridgestone tyres. I had hoped for a better
result from Anthony. Normally he's able to turn it on in the
race and improve on both his practice and qualifying performance,
but it just didn't happen for him today. We need to find the
root cause of his problems, and then come up with a solution,
because the current situation isn't good for him and it isn't
good for Kawasaki."
1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 45'53.089; 2. Dani Pedrosa
(SPA) Repsol Honda Team +1.817; 3. Valentino Rossi (46) Fiat
Yamaha +12.723; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha Tech 3 +17.223;
5. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +23.752; 6. Casey
Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +26.688; 7. James Toseland
(GBR) Yamaha Tech 3 +32.631; 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP +36.382; 9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki
MotoGP +38.268; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini +1'01.306;
16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1'23.629
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