SUN SHINES ON KAWASAKI AT JEREZ
The Spanish Grand Prix was held today at the Andalucian circuit
of Jerez and both Kawasaki Racing Team riders, John Hopkins
and Anthony West, showed off their skill and determination
by managing seventh and 13th positions respectively.
After a solid start from the third row of the grid, Hopkins
was right in the thick of the action near the front of the
field. Soon however, eventual race-winner, Dani Pedrosa, took
off with a small selection of riders, leaving the #21 racer
in an impressive group which stayed virtually intact until
the end of the 27 lap event.
Showing no sign of pain from his groin injury and steering
his Ninja ZX-RR expertly around the complex, 4.423km circuit,
Hopkins battled to the last, seeing off Shinya Nakano and
former Suzuki team mate, Chris Vermeulen, in the process.
In a nail-biting finale, there was a last corner scrap for
places with Loris Capirossi, James Toseland, and Andrea Dovizioso,
and a delighted Kawasaki squad looked on as Hopkins got seventh
spot, bringing his points total after two races to 13 and
putting him ninth in the championship.
Further down the field, Anthony West was engaged in a race-long
battle with Marco Melandri and Alex de Angelis. The 27-year-old
Australian had also managed a good start, soon finding himself
in 13th place after rising two positions during the first
lap. By the end of lap three, he had progressed to 11th but
lost that to 2007 world champion, Casey Stoner, who was having
to catch up with the field after a an earlier error had forced
him off the track.
West was then overtaken by Marco Melandri and the two diced
for the rest of the race with West finally missing out on
12th but, like his team mate, he fought until the end, holding
off a last gasp attempt to overtake him by de Angelis.
The Kawasaki Racing Team will now undertake further testing
at Jerez before the championship continues on 13th April at
Estoril, Portugal.
John Hopkins
#21 - 7th
"We took a gamble on the race tyre we used today as we've
only completed two timed laps on it previously and, thankfully,
we made a good decision. I got a good start to the race but
went backwards a few places on lap one. I was pushing hard
to make a pass on lap four when I made a mistake and lost
a few positions, so I gritted my teeth and pushed hard to
stay with the group in front. I was riding consistently throughout
the race but, by the time the last lap arrived, I was sliding
quite a lot on the rear tyre. I was right with Toseland and
Dovizioso when they had a coming together in the final part
of the race, which left the door open for me to make up another
position. Although I'm pleased with the result, we still have
a lot of work to do. My injury is feeling much better and
now we have some test time so can continue the process of
getting the Kawasaki to the top of the field."
Anthony West
#13 - 13th
"I gave it my all today and to be honest it was hard
work. The result is a big improvement since the last round,
although we're still struggling with a lack of rear traction.
I got a good start to the race and I was trying to be as smooth
as possible but, once the tyre went off, this became quite
difficult. During my battle with Melandri, I felt much faster
than him and I easily re-passed him on a few occasions. He
managed to pass me in the last few laps and, despite pushing
really hard, I just didn't have enough grip to get by him
again. The front end of the bike felt good, entry and mid
corner I was a lot faster than everyone else, but we're losing
a lot of time in the exit of some corners so that is the area
we need to focus on. Hopefully, with the test time we have,
we can make another step forward before reaching Estoril."
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
"I am happy with the result today: both riders rode very
hard and we have achieved much better positions than last
time out. John is still not completely comfortable on the
bike with his injury but both he and Anthony were fighting
right until the end of the race. Jerez is not one of our favourite
circuits, as we've struggled here in the past, but we have
to work hard to try and improve even further before the next
round. We now have some test time in the next two days where
John will try some front tyre options and he will also be
given the opportunity to ride the 'screamer' machine. Anthony
and our test rider, Olivier Jacque, have similar riding styles
so they will work together to try and find a better base setting
to race with."
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 45'35.121; 2. Valentino
Rossi (46) Fiat Yamaha +2.883; 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat
Yamaha +4.339; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +10.142;
5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +27.524; 6. James
Toseland (GBR) Yamaha Tech 3 +27.808; 7. John Hopkins (USA)
Kawasaki Racing Team +28.296; 8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR
Team Scott +28.449; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini +32.569;
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +35.091; 11.
Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +42.223; 12. Marco
Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +44.498; 13. Anthony West
(AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +45.807
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