KAWASAKI LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENTS AT MISANO
Anthony West was the sole Kawasaki rider on the timesheet
after today's two free practice sessions at Misano Adriatico,
after complications with the rib injury he sustained in a
practice crash at Brno forced John Hopkins to sit out the
opening track sessions.
Following his career-best MotoGP result last time out at
Brno, West was looking forward to boarding his Ninja ZX-RR
this weekend at the San Marino circuit. However, the 27-year-old
Australian has been plagued with a lack of confidence in the
front-end of his race machine around the 4.20km track, and
was disappointed not to have made more of an impression on
the rest of the field.
West utilised the two hour-long practice sessions to revise
his race set-up to suit the relatively bumpy and tight features
of the Misano circuit, while finding a suitable Bridgestone
tyre option for Sunday's 28-lap Grand Prix. The Kawasaki pilot
ended the day 17th on the time sheets, and will work closely
with his crew tomorrow to find a solution to improve the front-end
feedback from his machine.
Hopkins suffered a displaced intercostal muscle in the Brno
crash two weeks ago, and despite the injury healing well over
the last week, the Anglo-American accidentally aggravated
the injury on Thursday evening, with the accompanying pain
resulting in a restless night for the Kawasaki pilot.
It was decided that, on safety grounds, Hopkins would not
board the bike today, as the distraction of the injury, combined
with the lack of rest that the Kawasaki pilot has suffered,
would hinder his ability to focus one-hundred percent while
on track.
Hopkins, who is still in some discomfort, will be back on
track for tomorrow's qualifying if he responds well enough
to the intense treatment he has been receiving at regular
intervals during today.
Anthony West
#13 - 17th - 1'37.929
"We came here in good spirits following the last race,
but it's been quite a frustrating day for us. We worked closely
with Bridgestone throughout both sessions to find improved
confidence in the front-end of my machine, yet we've ended
the day in only 17th place. The bike feels very nervous, particularly
in the bumpy sections of the circuit, which means I just can't
get hard on the brakes and into the turns. Our set-up from
Brno just isn't working here so we need to revise our direction
to suit this circuit, and hopefully, as we did last time out,
we can make a big improvement tomorrow."
John Hopkins
#21 - Not Classified
"To be sidelined by something so simple is really disappointing,
but while the injury isn't serious it is really painful, especially
when you're on the bike. I thought I was back to full fitness
after resting up since Brno, but then I managed to tweak the
same Intercostal muscle during a light training session on
Thursday evening, and the pain kept me awake most of the night.
The injury has responded well to treatment, and is now much
improved, but the lack of sleep meant that it was difficult
to concentrate fully ahead of this afternoon's practice session.
Rather than risk further injury by riding at less than 100
percent, together with the team, I made the decision to sit
out this afternoon's practice. Tomorrow I'll be good to go,
and I hope that the lack of track time today won't stop us
picking up where we left off at the last round."
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
“Today we made the decision for John not to ride as
an injury he sustained at Brno, which seemed to be healing
well, has caused him a tremendous amount of discomfort in
the last few days. Although the treatment seems to be going
well, he's had very little sleep and we felt it would be too
much of a risk to let him out on track, particularly as he's
still recovering from the recent surgery on his leg injuries.
It's a difficult decision to make, particularly because he
also missed the post-race test last time out, but we hope
that tomorrow he will be fit enough to ride. Anthony is struggling
with a lack of front-end confidence today and we have to look
closely at how we can make radical improvements to his set-up.
After his impressive race performance last time out in Brno,
it's disappointing to see him at the bottom of the timesheet
once again."
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'34.806; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.418; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP +0.571; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha
+0.618; 5. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +0.814;
6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.937; 7. Jorge
Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +0.960; 8. Alex De Angelis (RSM)
San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.055; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San
Carlo Honda Gresini +1.294; 10. James Toseland (GBR) Tech
3 Yamaha +1.299; 17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team
+3.123; NC. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team
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