TOP TEN RETURN FOR HOPKINS FOLLOWING KAWASAKI IMPROVEMENTS
John Hopkins showed today that an enforced seven week lay-off
through injury hasn't blunted his skills, as he made his racing
return aboard an evolution version of Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR
MotoGP racer during today's opening practice sessions at Brno.
Despite a fall in each of the one-hour sessions, Hopkins
felt confident that the revised specification engine and chassis
components added to his Ninja ZX-RR for this weekend have
made a vast improvement. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot finished
the day eighth overall at the 5.403km Brno circuit, after
posting his fastest time on his last lap.
Hopkins will work with his crew overnight to find an improved
setting for a better front-end feeling from his Kawasaki,
as it was this lack of feedback that caused the Anglo-American
to crash in both sessions. Hopkins is feeling confident ahead
of tomorrow’s qualifying and is looking forward to capitalising
on the upgrades that the Kawasaki engineers have made to his
machine during the summer break.
Teammate Anthony West was disappointed not to have made more
of an impression as he suffered with turning and stability
issues during both sessions today. The 27-year-old Australian
was struggling to change direction smoothly and also complained
of a lack of feedback from his Ninja ZX-RR. West’s crew
will look to find a solution to give the Kawasaki pilot, who
finished the day 17th overall, more confidence in his machine
and improve the turning performance to alleviate the problems
he has faced today.
The weather could play a big part in tomorrow’s proceedings
as rain is forecast at the Czech circuit, which could mean
tomorrow's final free practice and qualifying sessions are
held in wet conditions.
John Hopkins
#21 - 8th - 1'58.830
“It’s a shame we had two minor falls today; I
just lost the front while finding the limit, but it was nothing
major. The new engine parts have made a huge difference as
the bike has more horsepower and improved power management.
The chassis upgrade has helped us to turn better, especially
into the corners, but we need to work on getting a little
more feedback from the front-end. My knee is quite sore, especially
when I have to put a lot of weight on it to change direction,
but it’s holding out well and I’m looking forward
to getting back out there tomorrow to continue with what we’ve
learnt today.”
Anthony West
#13 - 17th - 2'00.621
“This is not exactly how I’d hoped to make a return
following our recent summer break. The bike has plenty of
grip, which is where we’ve suffered in the past, but
I just can’t get it to turn. Unfortunately this lack
of stability means there is very little feedback from the
machine when cornering and I don’t have much confidence,
which is reflected in our lap time. We’ve identified
the areas where the problems are more significant and hopefully
overnight we can find a solution to this. I think the weather
will have a big part to play tomorrow, I just have to stay
positive and hope we can turn it around in qualifying.”
Naoya Kaneko
Kawasaki Technical Manager
“Today we introduced some new specification engine parts
and chassis components. Unfortunately John crashed in both
sessions, so we need to improve the stability and feeling
of his machine to enable him to push more. The overall review
from practice is that these upgrades have made a big improvement;
we just need to refine some areas further. Anthony has been
struggling throughout the sessions with a lack of stability
in the turns. We will look to find a solution to this, but
it means he will have some catching up to do in tomorrow’s
sessions. The weather is quite unpredictable at this stage
and I also think this could affect everyone’s performance
in qualifying.”
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'57.231; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.179; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP +0.769; 4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda
Gresini +0.997; 5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini
+1.003; 6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.231;
7. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.441; 8. John Hopkins
(USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.599; 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice
Team +1.650; 10. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team +1.692;
17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +3.390
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