The Kawasaki Racing Team's John Hopkins and Anthony West finally got their
2008 MotoGP campaign underway today, during the first of three days of testing
at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.
After almost seven weeks off the bike, both Hopkins and West used this
opening day of testing to get themselves back up to speed aboard their 2008
Ninja ZX-RR machines. Recalibrating the brain to MotoGP speed is always a
difficult process, but an inconsistent track surface with varying degrees of
grip made the job even more challenging for both riders today.
Hopkins quickly mastered the tricky conditions, increasing his pace with
every run, but his teammate joined a list of unfortunates, including Dani
Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi, who were caught out by the inconsistencies in the
track surface.
On his last run of the day West lost the front going into the final hairpin,
bringing his first day of testing to a premature end after crashing without
injury.
Despite this being an acclimatisation day for the riders, both were able to
start the evaluation process on new chassis and clutch components on their Ninja
ZX-RR machines. This test and evaluation program will continue in earnest
tomorrow, when Hopkins and West return for an intensive second day of testing,
which will include a comprehensive tyre evaluation in conjunction with
Bridgestone.
But while the workload promises to be punishing, the two regular race pilots
will receive some welcome assistance from Kawasaki test and development riders,
Olivier Jacque and Tamaki Serizawa, both of whom also completed a full schedule
of testing today.
John Hopkins:
"Today was all about getting back up to speed on the bike after such a
long layoff, but still we managed to test some new chassis and engine
components, with positive results. Overall the bike feels improved over the bike
I last rode in Jerez back in November, but we will only get to see the full
potential of the new parts once we start the fine-tuning process over the next
two days. Tomorrow we start tyre testing with Bridgestone, but we'll also
continue working to improve the set-up of the bike, before switching back to
focus on this completely during the final day here in Sepang. It's been a good
start today, but tomorrow the real work begins."
Anthony West:
"The first day back on the bike after a long break is always a bit of an
experience. You feel like you're really motoring, only to come back to the pit
box and find out that you're way off race pace. But it all comes back quite
quickly, and I managed to improve my times with every run today. Unfortunately
my day ended slightly earlier than was planned, after I lost the front at the
hairpin. I turned in at the same speed as on my previous laps, but I think my
line was a little bit different and I hit a bump as a result. Anyway, the front
tucked under and down I went, luckily without injury. Despite the crash it's
good to finally get the season underway, and I'm looking forward to getting back
on the bike tomorrow."
from Kawasaki Racing press
