JAMIE HACKING TO MAKE MOTOGP DEBUT AT LAGUNA
AMA Superbike star, Jamie Hacking, will make his MotoGP debut
in this year's USGP at Laguna Seca, after being drafted into
the Kawasaki Racing Team as a temporary replacement for the
injured John Hopkins.
A three-time AMA champion, Hacking has racked up six podium
finishes already in this year's ultra-competitive AMA Superbike
championship, making him the ideal choice to stand in for
Hopkins while the Anglo-American recovers from the injuries
sustained in a high-speed qualifying crash ahead of the Dutch
TT at Assen.
Although a US citizen now, 37-year-old Hacking was born in
the Lancashire mill town of Oswaldtwistle in the North of
England and only moved to the United States at the age of
nine years, when his father secured a job in Spartanburg,
South Carolina.
And it was in America that 'the Hacker' got serious about
racing, contesting junior motocross events all over the South-Eastern
United States and winning almost every race he entered. In
1994 Hacking made the switch to road racing aboard a Kawasaki
ZX-7R and made an instant impression by crashing out of his
first race!
Hacking made his AMA debut in 1997, again aboard a Kawasaki,
and took pole position in his very first Supersport qualifying
session. In 1998 he secured the AMA Rookie of the Year award
and in 2003 he won the first of two AMA Supersport titles,
the second coming in 2006 when he was also crowned AMA Superstock
champion.
A move to Kawasaki in 2007 brought two Supersport race wins
aboard the ZX-6R as well as five Superbike podium finishes.
This season Hacking has focussed solely on the Superbike class
and, with six podium finishes to his name so far this season,
currently lies fourth in the championship standings.
The highly experienced AMA Superbike rider broke the lap
record during two days of testing at Autopolis this week,
aboard the Ninja ZX-RR machine he will race at Laguna. As
a result, he heads for the USGP determined to match, or even
exceed, the performance of his Kawasaki teammate, Roger Lee
Hayden, who brought the Ninja ZX-RR home in an impressive
tenth place in last year's race.
Jamie Hacking
Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #12
"I'm really excited about riding Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR
in the USGP at Laguna Seca. We've just completed two days
of testing with the bike in Japan, and I felt pretty comfortable
straight away. It's an amazing machine. I can't believe how
sophisticated the electronics package is on the bike; already
it feels like you can open the gas impossibly early out of
the turns, but the data shows that it's actually possible
to open the throttle even earlier. To do this requires some
confidence in the electronics, and that confidence will only
come with more track time on the bike. Roger Lee set the benchmark
at this race last year with an outstanding tenth place finish,
so that's certainly given me something to aim for. Laguna
is one of my best tracks, but I'm under no illusions how hard
it's going to be. I'll be up against some of the best riders
in the world on a bike on which I've only had limited testing
time. If I come away from the weekend with a top ten finish,
then I'll be happy."
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
"Given his results in this year's AMA Superbike championship,
Jamie was the obvious choice for Kawasaki when the factory
started looking for a temporary replacement for John Hopkins.
We are looking forward to seeing what he can do on our bike
at Laguna Seca, especially after he broke the lap record at
Kawasaki's Autopolis circuit in Japan during two days of testing
on the Ninja ZX-RR this week. One big advantage that Jamie
has is that he knows the track extremely well, and I think
that will count in his favour, as it will allow him to focus
completely on the bike during the race weekend. Roger Lee
set a hard target last year by finishing as the first American
across the line in tenth place, but I'm sure that Jamie is
heading to the USGP determined to do even better! I'm sure
that he will do a good job for us at Laguna."
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