INJURED HOPKINS FIGHTS FOR TOP TEN
John Hopkins demonstrated true grit and determination today
at the Grand Prix of Catalunya to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home
in 10th position, despite carrying a back injury sustained
in Friday’s practice.
Hopkins got a steady start to the 25-lap race and pushed
as hard as possible, despite being unable to move around easily
on his race machine, to make up positions around the 4.727km
circuit. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot settled into a rhythm
and circulated on his own for most of the race, riding through
the pain barrier, to cross the line with a very creditable
top ten finish.
Teammate Anthony West, who set his fastest lap of the entire
weekend in the opening stages, endured a hard, race long fight
with Marco Melandri to finish in a points-scoring 12th position.
The Australian switched positions with Melandri throughout
the race in a nail-biting battle, but despite his persistence
the 26-year-old was just beaten to the flag. West was upbeat
about the result and he can now look forward to racing at
Donington Park, which was where he made his premier class
debut aboard the Kawasaki last season.
Depending on his condition, Hopkins will ride during tomorrow’s
valuable post-race test to further develop his 800cc Ninja
ZX-RR, whilst West will fly to Japan for a two-day test aimed
at improving the power delivery of his machine.
John Hopkins
#21 - 10th Position
“I’m in a lot of pain right now with my injury
and that was a really hard race. I tried to pass a few people
at the start, but I got boxed out and I lost some ground.
I pushed as hard as I could to stay with the group ahead of
me, but the pain set in and I had to really focus on settling
into a rhythm. It was then a case of finding a way to ride
without moving around too much on the machine to finish the
race, and although tenth isn’t where I want to be, in
this situation I’m pleased we managed to achieve that.
We still have a lot of work to do with the bike, and hopefully
we can be in a good condition for the next race in Britain.”
Anthony West
#13 - 12th Position
“I rode as hard as I possibly could today and I fought
hard with Marco for the entire race. I passed him into the
turns on many occasions, but his machine was a bit stronger
on the straights and it just meant I had a lot of work to
do each time he came by. The tyre went off a little in the
last few laps, which meant I just didn’t quite have
enough to re-take him before the finish. I’m happy we
had a good race, but we still need to make big improvements
to the set-up of the bike. I’m going to Japan for a
test where I hope we can try to resolve the rear traction
issues I’ve been suffering, then we’ll be back
in Europe preparing for Donington Park and, hopefully, we
can make another step forwards there.”
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
“Hopefully this is a new start for us and I am happy
that both riders finished the race today, as the last few
rounds have been difficult. We need to concentrate on making
improvements to the performance of the bike before the next
race to provide the riders with the best package possible.
Anthony will now spend some time testing in Japan where we
have better resources to focus on improving the power delivery
of his machine. John rode a hard race today with his injury
and we are unsure yet if he’ll be able to complete many
laps during tomorrow’s test. I hope he will be fit to
ride and we can continue making steps forward, so that we
can be even more competitive at Donington Park.”
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 43'02.175; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +2.806; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati
Marlboro Team +3.343; 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot
+10.893; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +16.426; 6.
James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +21.482; 7. Chris Vermeulen
(AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +21.548; 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol
Honda Team +22.280; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda
Gresini +22.375; 10. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team
+46.835; 11. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +57.991;
12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +59.168; 13. Sylvain
Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team +1'00.779;
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