Testing: Jerez
KAWASAKI CONCLUDE WEATHER AFFECTED JEREZ TEST
Kawasaki's John Hopkins and Anthony West concluded the three-day
IRTA test at a blustery, but dry Jerez circuit today with
encouraging results, as both riders continued to improve the
set-up of their Ninja ZX-RR machines.
West finished the test reasonably satisfied with 12th position,
after making significant steps forward with the set-up of
his machine. The 26-year-old Australian concentrated on improving
the handling and cornering of his bike and he, along with
his crew, has found a front-end setting that has given him
much more confidence around the technical Jerez circuit.
West also carried out an evaluation of qualifying tyres supplied
by Bridgestone, whilst spending most of the day in the top
five, completing a total of 63 laps of the 4.423km Spanish
circuit. The Kawasaki rider concluded the day with a fastest
time of 1:41.026.
Hopkins completed the test with a run out on circuit this
morning to finalise his clutch set-up. The Anglo-American
completed a total of 20 laps, posting a best time of 1:42.970.
Hopkins decided to stay off the track during the afternoon,
as riding in the rain yesterday has caused some aggravation
to the injury the 24-year-old sustained at Philip Island in
pre-season testing.
Hopkins will now return home to receive ultra-sound treatment
on the torn abductor in his groin and focus on regaining strength
in the injured muscle ahead of the Qatar test in just over
a week's time.
Kawasaki Technical Manager, Naoya Kaneko, declared himself
pleased with today's proceedings and is confident that the
team now have a clear direction for the final pre-season test
at the Losail International circuit in Doha, Qatar.
Anthony West
12th - 63 Laps - 1:41.026
"We've mainly worked on the handling and the steering
of the bike today. We've made a big step forward in the front-end
set-up and I feel a lot more confident, although there is
still room for further improvement. We have also tested some
qualifying tyres from Bridgestone that I have never used before
and the results were promising, I am sure that given more
time using them we could have gone even faster. We finished
off the test with a 10-lap run to see what the tyre performance
is like towards the middle of race distance and we found more
consistency than with the previous tyres we have used. We
now have a plan to fine-tune the set-up with what we have
learned here in Jerez and I will return home to continue with
my training programme before heading to the last pre-season
test in Qatar."
John Hopkins
18th - 20 Laps -1:42.970
"Today we used the dry track time to warm up the clutch
and try some practice starts, as we don't have much time to
do this before the first race. Riding in the rain yesterday
took its toll on my injury and today I have definitely felt
the effects. With our focus firmly on the first race, we decided
it wasn't necessary to go out on circuit this afternoon. I
am flying home tomorrow to immediately have as much therapy
and ultra-sound treatment as possible to maximise my recovery."
Naoya Kaneko
Kawasaki Technical Manager
"Today everything has gone well for us despite losing
some track time this morning because of the weather conditions.
Unfortunately John could only test a few parts due to his
injury, but we have found some direction for our development
ahead of the first race. With Anthony we tested some qualifying
tyres, and we have worked particularly on his chassis set-up.
We found a combination of components and settings that worked
positively for us, which we will continue to work on. We now
go to the final test, where we will concentrate on optimising
the overall package to be as competitive as possible at the
opening race of the season."
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 1'38.848; 2. Jorge
Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +0.404; 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA)
JIR Team Scott +0.465; 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Honda LCR
+0.503; 5. Valentino Rossi (46) Fiat Yamaha +0.720; 6. James
Toseland (GBR) Yamaha Tech 3 +0.879; 7. Casey Stoner (AUS)
Ducati Marlboro Team +0.997; 8. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Honda
Gresini +1.084; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini +1.485;
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.594; 11.
Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.728; 12. Anthony
West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.178; 18. John Hopkins (USA)
Kawasaki Racing Team +4.122
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