KAWASAKI'S HOPKINS ON THE PACE AT ASSEN
Kawasaki's John Hopkins completed the opening practice day
at the Assen circuit in a confident mood, having made further
improvements to his Ninja ZX-RR and finishing in eighth place
overall.
Hopkins was pleased to be challenging for top positions after
finding a good machine setting. With only half a second separating
second and 12th position on the timesheet, competition is
already fierce on the opening day of the Dutch TT.
Hopkins is running an upgraded version of Kawasaki's Ninja
ZX-RR engine this weekend and this, together with improvements
in set-up over the last two races, means that Hopkins is confident
of improving further his position ahead of the race.
The Anglo-American, who is slowly recovering from a back
injury, spent the sessions today dialling in the new specification
parts while running through many Bridgestone tyre options
to identify the best race tyre option. The 25-year-old is
looking forward to tomorrow when he will refine his machine
set-up, as well as check the longevity of his chosen tyre
with a race simulation.
Teammate West, who was feeling buoyant after a top ten finish
last time out, has suffered with some difficulties around
the 4.555km Circuit van Drenthe, finishing today's practice
in 15th position. The 26-year-old Australian used the base
setting he found at the British Grand Prix, but is struggling
with chatter and a lack of exit grip at this complex track,
which features many long, negative-camber turns.
West will work closely with his crew to make some alterations
to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR overnight and they hope to
resolve the issues that have thwarted the Kawasaki pilot's
progress today.
John Hopkins: #21 - 8th - 1'37.251
"It's been a good start for us today. We have had some
new specification engine parts to test and these have definitely
shown an improvement. We're running pretty much the same set-up
as last time out and the Kawasaki seems to be getting around
here really well. This afternoon we ran through every tyre
we had allocated to us to make a decision for the race, because
we are unsure of what the weather might do during tomorrow.
The last tyre we tried worked really well and we'd like more
dry time to do a long run to test it for durability. The competition
is close and apart from Casey (Stoner), who is a long way
ahead, we're running the same times as everyone else so I'm
pretty happy with that. The injury is starting to feel better
now and I'm really feeling confident ahead of qualifying tomorrow."
Anthony West: #13 - 15th - 1'38.413
"I'm a bit frustrated to be honest. I came here thinking
that our set-up from Donington Park would be a good starting
point for this circuit, but that's not been the case today.
We've had some problems with chatter that we haven't had before,
and we're struggling a little bit with drive out of the turns.
But, my crew already have some ideas on how we can improve
things tonight, which we'll check out during practice tomorrow
morning. It looks like we've got a bit of a fight on our hands
this weekend, but that's all part of the job. I really like
the Assen circuit, so I hope we can get things sorted ready
for qualifying tomorrow."
Naoya Kaneko
Kawasaki Technical Manager
"We've made some upgrades to John's engine since last
weekend and the performance of his machine has definitely
improved. He is also recovering well from his injury, which
means we can make further steps forward in set-up. Anthony
has used the base setting from Donington but the circuit here
features a lot of banked turns and we need to find a better
machine balance to help him enter and exit the corners quicker.
The chatter problem arose later on in the session and we need
to find a compromise to improve this. Anthony will also receive
the engine upgrades to his machine for tomorrow's sessions,
and we will continue work overnight to find a solution to
his grip troubles."
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'36.087; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +0.732; 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech
3 Yamaha +0.844; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.925;
5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.039; 6.
Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +1.050; 7. Randy
De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +1.100; 8. John Hopkins (USA)
Kawasaki Racing Team +1.164; 9. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol
Honda Team +1.193; 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki
MotoGP +1.195; 15. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team
+2.326
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