TOP TEN AT DONINGTON MARKS RETURN TO FORM FOR WEST
Kawasaki's Anthony West stormed to his first top ten finish
of the season in today's British Grand Prix at Donington Park,
after finally overcoming the traction problems that have plagued
him since the beginning of the season.
West, who qualified in seventh position on the grid in the
wet yesterday, rode superbly aboard his Bridgestone-shod machine,
lapping consistently throughout the 30-lap race around the
4.023km circuit. The Kawasaki pilot came under pressure late
on in the race, but was able to up his pace sufficiently to
retain tenth place at the chequered flag.
West is now looking forward to Assen, one of his more favoured
circuits, as upgrades to his race machine should further assist
his quest to get a season that's been hampered by problems
well and truly back on track.
John Hopkins was left frustrated today, as a technical issue
with his Ninja ZX-RR forced him out of the race on lap seventeen,
but it was an eventful race for the Kawasaki pilot even before
this problem brought it to a premature end.
After a good start from 11th place on the grid, the Anglo-American
was baulked at turn one, Redgate Corner, when James Toseland
highsided out of contention right in front of him and Hopkins
had to take evasive action to avoid the Briton's fallen machine.
The gritty 25-year-old, who is still carrying a back injury
sustained at Catalunya, fought his way up to tenth position,
just ahead of his teammate, before being sidelined by an electrical
fault on his Ninja ZX-RR.
While Kawasaki's engineers investigate the cause of the problem,
Hopkins is looking to make amends in the Dutch TT at Assen,
which takes place in just six days time.
Anthony West
#13 - 10th Position
"This result shows exactly what we are capable of and
I hope it will only get better from here. The bike finally
feels rideable, and I was able to push right up until the
end of the race, so I'm really pleased with a top ten finish.
We've made a massive step forward and I feel so much more
confident in the wet or dry than I have done previously. In
the closing stages I came under quite a lot of pressure from
Toni Elias and Randy de Puniet, but I was able to respond
and maintain a good lap time throughout. The machine set-up
felt good, as did the Bridgestone tyres, and although there
are many more improvements to be made, I really believe we
can work on these. The next round at Assen is one of my more
favoured tracks so I'm really looking forward to racing there."
John Hopkins
#21 - DNF
"It's difficult to express how frustrated I feel after
today's race. I got away from the start pretty well, but then
Toseland highsided right in front of me exiting the first
turn and, while he slid off the track, I had to brake almost
to a standstill to avoid his bike. This left me dead last
on the opening lap, but I got my head down and fought my way
back through the field, eventually passing Anthony to take
tenth position. I think it was possible to close the gap on
the group ahead of me, but then the bike just stopped at the
Old Hairpin. Obviously we need to figure out what caused the
problem, but with the next race less than one week away I
don't want to dwell on what went wrong today but, rather,
look forward to making amends next weekend in Assen."
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
"I am very happy for Anthony because he has ridden well
in both the wet and dry conditions throughout the weekend.
This proves that as a team we were right to stick by him.
I have always believed we made a good choice in Anthony, and
today he was able to ride a solid race to achieve our aim
of a top ten finish. Today has been disappointing for John,
as he has worked so hard whilst carrying a back injury. He
fought to a good position before being ruled out of the race
due to a technical issue. This problem is now under investigation
and we will look to resolve it, wherever the trouble lies."
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 44'44.982; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +5.789; 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol
Honda Team +8.347; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +12.678;
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +14.801; 6. Jorge
Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +15.690; 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol
Honda Team +18.196; 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki
MotoGP +21.666; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini
+29.354; 10. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +41.030;
DNF. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +14 Laps
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