Kawasaki Concludes Successful Philip
Island Test
28th November 2008
The Kawasaki Racing Team today concluded a successful
three-day test at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia,
with the three riders clocking up more than 150 laps
of the 4.445km track, despite less than ideal weather
conditions.
Overnight rain had left the track damp in the morning,
and while the infamous Phillip Island wind was quick
to dry the track out, it also lowered the track temperature
significantly, which caught out test and development
rider Olivier Jacque.
The former 250cc world champion had a big crash late
on in the afternoon, after highsiding himself on a
cold rear tyre at the right-hand Hayshed turn. Jacque
was uninjured in the crash, but admitted on his return
to the pit box that it was a bit of a 'scary moment'.
Marco Melandri continued to work with his new crew
on the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR today, as well as
doing some long runs around the 4.455km Phillip Island
circuit in support of Bridgestone's test and development
programme.
The 26-year-old Italian, who completed 79 laps, made
changes to the chassis and suspension settings on
his Ninja ZX-RR, and declared himself happy with the
results, after setting a best time of 1'31.8 at the
end of the third and final day of testing.
John Hopkins also declared himself happy with the
test, after lapping the Phillip Island circuit consistently
during his long runs for Bridgestone today, despite
having to adapt his riding style to compensate for
the injuries that are still causing him some discomfort
on the bike.
Hopkins will fly straight back to the United States,
where he'll undergo surgery on Wednesday to remove
the metal plates from his left foot, ankle and hand
that have caused him so many problems this season.
The 25-year-old Anglo-American will then spend four
weeks recuperating from the operation, before starting
a punishing fitness regime to ensure he is fighting
fit ahead of Kawasaki's pre-season test programme.
The annual six-week winter test ban comes into force
from 1st December, with the result that the Kawasaki
Racing Team will not be able to continue their development
testing programme until they return to the Phillip
Island circuit in January 2009. However, the data
collected during these three days at the Australian
circuit will allow Kawasaki's engineers in Japan to
continue the development of the 2009 Ninja ZX-RR throughout
the test ban period.
John Hopkins, #21 - 50 Laps - Best Lap 1'32.1
"Today was more positive for me. The injuries
weren't such a big problem, although I had to adapt
my riding style because I still can't put any pressure
on the left footpeg. We found a pretty good set-up
on the bike and my lap times were pretty consistent
over the long runs we did for Bridgestone, and it's
this consistency that's important to our development
programme right now. It's been good working with Marco;
we work well together and I'm sure we'll be pushing
each other all the way once we start testing and racing
again next year. Now I'm off straight back to America,
where I'll have surgery on Wednesday to remove all
the metal from my various injuries. As well as taking
the plates out of my left foot and ankle, Doctor Ting
will also remove the plate I've had in my left hand
for the past three years. I'll be about two kilograms
lighter! My plan is to take it easy after the surgery,
to make sure I'm fully recovered, and then train my
butt off ready for the new season."
Olivier Jacque, #19 - 24 Laps - Best Lap
1'32.3
"These three days at Phillip Island have been
positive, because we now know how much work we need
to do to improve the bike before we return here to
continue testing in the New Year. We tried a slightly
different engine today, which had some positive points,
but we're still struggling a little bit with the front-end
feeling. Marco did make some progress with this issue
after trying a different set-up on his bike, and I'll
test the same set-up when we return to Phillip Island
in January. I had a big crash late on in the day after
the rear came round on me through the right-hander
at Hayshed. It takes some time to warm up the right-hand
side of the tyre here, and although I'd been really
careful up to this point, I must have just given it
a bit too much gas on cold tarmac and down I went.
It was a big impact, but apart from a few bruises,
I walked away uninjured. It was scary though! We leave
here knowing what we have to do to close the gap on
the leading riders and teams, and I hope when we return
early next year we'll see a significant improvement
in both bike and lap times."
Kawasaki Competition Manager
"These three days have been pretty successful,
as we leave Phillip Island having given our engineers
in Japan a clear direction in which to drive the development
of Kawasaki's 2009 Ninja ZX-RR. All three riders have
worked hard this week, and we've seem some positive
results, but we're under no illusions about how much
work there is to do between now and next year if we
are to be competitive from the start next season.
We hope to return to Phillip Island to confirm any
changes made to the bike as a result of this week's
test, as this will provide a good reference point
for future improvements, but we won't be able to confirm
any test dates until the Grand Prix commission has
ratified the new sporting regulations in December."
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