WEST HAMPERED BY CRASH AT SACHSENRING
Kawasaki's Anthony West bounced back from a high-speed crash
this morning, to finish the opening day of practice for Sunday's
German Grand Prix at Sachsenring 15th fastest on combined
times.
The 26-year-old Australian had been lapping consistently
throughout the hour-long morning session, as he worked with
his crew to improve the braking stability of his Ninja ZX-RR.
But as the session drew to a close, West lost the front of
his Kawasaki on the entry to the 230 km/h left-hander at turn
six, crashing heavily.
The Kawasaki pilot suffered injuries to his back and left
forearm as he tumbled through the gravel trap, with the result
that he returned to the track for this afternoon's free practice
session more than a little battered and bruised.
West was also restricted to just one bike for afternoon practice,
as his number one machine was almost completely destroyed
in the crash and there was too little time between sessions
for the Australian's crew to rebuild a spare bike from the
ground up.
While West and his crew made significant improvements to
the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR throughout the hour-long second
practice session, the Kawasaki rider struggled with changing
direction through the high-speed sections of the track, due
mainly to the back injury restricting his movement on the
bike.
West will receive treatment on his injured back tonight,
and he remains confident that a top ten grid position is a
realistic target for tomorrow's qualifying session.
Anthony West
#13 - 15th - 1'23.452
"We had some problems with braking stability this morning,
but the biggest problem was the crash right at the end of
the session. When I hit the gravel trap something must have
dug in, because I started tumbling and that's what damaged
my back. It was a bit painful during the afternoon session,
especially through the high-speed sections where you need
to use your bodyweight to get the bike to change direction.
We made some definite improvements to the bike this afternoon,
especially with the braking stability. Through some sections
of the track it's working really well, but we still need to
look at improving drive out of the turns; specifically at
the last corner which leads onto the start finish straight.
I will get some treatment on my back tonight, and I'm pretty
sure it won't be an issue tomorrow. This track is really difficult
to pass at, so qualifying in the top ten is essential tomorrow
afternoon."
Naoya Kaneko
Kawasaki Technical Manager
"This morning we had some problems with braking stability,
especially in a straight line, but we made significant improvements
in this area during the afternoon. Anthony is still saying
that he lacks some feeling through certain parts of the track,
so we need to look at altering the balance of the bike for
tomorrow. We also need to improve drive stability, especially
out of the last corner, as the bike is moving around too much
under acceleration and that makes it difficult for Anthony
to get on the gas early. Because we're not sure what the weather
will do tomorrow we tested all of our tyre options today.
If the conditions on Sunday are the same as today then we
know we have a good tyre for the race."
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'21.582; 2. Alex
De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.411; 3. Colin
Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.881; 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA)
Fiat Yamaha +1.035; 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team
+1.177; 6. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +1.312; 7. Shinya
Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.340; 8. Nicky Hayden
(USA) Repsol Honda Team +1.393; 9. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA)
JIR Team Scot +1.417; 10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda
MotoGP +1.534; 15. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team
+1.870
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