Ant and The King..
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Ant and The King..
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20...ks/AntKing.jpg
07 Apr 2008
KAWASAKI PAIR PREPARED FOR PORTUGAL
Round three of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship takes place at Estoril this weekend and will see the premier class teams gather on Sunday for a demanding, 28-lap race.
After the historic night race at Qatar, followed by the recent battle at Jerez, the Portuguese Grand Prix should prove another thrilling event, held at the notoriously difficult 4.182km circuit.
Kawasaki's John Hopkins is looking forward to it. With his fitness steadily approaching 100% after his crash at Phillip Island in January, the Anglo-American is looking stronger than ever and feels he can tackle Estoril with relish after finishing a healthy seventh in Spain last month.
Furthermore, an extra day's testing at Jerez, after the race, proved highly productive as the 24-year-old continues to perfect adjustments to the Ninja ZX-RR to suit his fast, aggressive riding style. With his engineers concentrating on gearing and suspension settings to accommodate Estoril's numerous, tough corners, heavy braking will be the order of the day and the crew has been aiming to maximise stability to deal with the arduous race.
Hopkins' team mate, Anthony West, looked stronger at Jerez than he has for a while and his raised confidence, both in himself and the ZX-RR, showed his fighting spirit is far from on the wane. The 27-year old Australian fought hard and is now keen to see what he can pull out of the hat at Estoril.
Last year, West's first MotoGP outing at the circuit proved tricky. The track is notoriously hard on tyres and his traction suffered. However, he still managed to finish 12th after qualifying in 16th.
Estoril is one of the slowest tracks in the MotoGP calendar but it nonetheless represents a huge challenge to the premier class riders as it snakes its way through 13 corners, including numerous hairpins and a very nasty chicane near its northern parameters. Then there's the famous long, stretched-out, tyre-eating Parabolica, which sees the bikes at maximum lean for what must seem like an eternity before they get on the gas for the 986m start finish straight. There, spectators can regularly see the bikes reach speeds of up to 320kmh so there's plenty of guaranteed entertainment value.
Built in 1972, the circuit, close to Portugal's Atlantic coast and not far from capital city, Lisbon, hosted its first MotoGP round in 2000 and has witnessed some of the closest racing in the championship's history.
Last year's race was won by Valentino Rossi, who provided edge-of-your-seat action with Spaniard, Dani Pedrosa, as the two diced for the front. Rossi's victory was particularly significant for Casey Stoner, whose crowning as the 2007 MotoGP World Champion had to wait another week, until after the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.
With both Kawasaki Racing Team riders so evidently raring to go, and the ZX-RR looking even better than ever, who knows what Sunday will bring…
John Hopkins: Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21
'I'm feeling really positive for the weekend. I like Estoril. The tight corners require a lot of heavy braking, which should really suit my riding style as well as suiting the Kawasaki machine. It's good because nobody's had much testing time there, so it's kind of an even field, and I enjoy the atmosphere there too. I felt a lot better after Jerez than I did after Qatar. We got a positive result and made some good improvements to the bike so hopefully we can utilise those in Portugal. So, I'm excited about going there and I'm really looking forward to the race.'
Anthony West: Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
'I'm feeling a bit more upbeat now. My result at Jerez, and my feeling on the bike, were much better than at Qatar so I'm feeling better prepared now to tackle the next race with a bit more confidence. Also, my fitness levels are still going up and I'm finding it much easier to go the full race distance without backing off. I'm more consistent now and that's reflected in my lap times. Estoril is a good track to ride. It's got a very long straight and the rest is made up of tighter sections; some of them really tight. It's always going to be hard getting a MotoGP bike around there and last year, rear grip was a problem for me. Mind you, we played around with the ZX-RR's settings at Jerez, after the recent Spanish GP, and made some real improvements. Overall it was much better so I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do at the weekend.'
Westy must already know his days are numbered:
Kawasaki say they plan to approach Valentino Rossi in the next month with a view to signing him to a 2009 deal.
Rossi's Yamaha contract expires at the end of this season, and Kawasaki team boss Michael Bartholemy has declared his interest in enticing the five-time MotoGP champion to Kawasaki.
"We are interested in Valentino, even though I've never spoken either to him or his manager," Bartholemy told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"But I'd like to and soon, because this would be the perfect time. Our first two races didn't go well. So Shanghai could be the right place."
Kawasaki have made a low-key start to 2008, with John Hopkins's seventh place at Jerez their best result in the opening two races.
But Bartholemy believes their form has been hidden as Hopkins recovered from a pre-season injury.
"We are improving," he insisted. "We haven't demonstrated that in the first two races as a consequence of Hopkins's injury in Phillip Island testing. But we are convinced we have a good bike and that future developments will make it even better.
"To hire Rossi would put more pressure on us, because you can't have a rider like Valentino and end up 15th. The Rossi-Hopkins pairing would be perfect."
Rossi was open-minded about the possibility of Kawasaki talks.
"It's true, I've never spoken with Kawasaki," he told Gazzetta. "It will depend on what they offer me."
Bartholemy expects Kawasaki to enjoy significantly larger resources next season.
"I'd like to field a third official bike," he said. "Our budget should rise by at least five million euros. If the objectives get bigger, then it becomes easier to convince the management to invest."
Should Rossi decline Kawasaki's offer, Bartholemy said impressive rookie Andrea Dovizioso - currently riding for JiR Scot Honda - and 250cc rider Alvaro Bautista were on the team's shortlist.
"I'm thinking of three other riders, including two very young ones, one of which is already in MotoGP," he said.
"(Dovizioso) is a fine rider and he's very intelligent. I like him.
"I had already suggested (Bautista) in 2006 after Motegi, when (Shinya) Nakano announced his retirement. Back then the top management didn't believe in him. They regret that."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66577
yeah, it looks like kwak are moving on. i think ant will be fine, though. he'll certainly excel at wsbk, which i'd expect him to pursue rather than try to soldier on in the back of the motogp grid.
i was predicting this from the time Kwak announced Ant's signing for 12 months only.... and was laughed out of the building.............. i feel sort of vindicated now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mach24
By whom?Quote:
Originally Posted by osg
Kwak making a play for Rossi is a real longshot in my opinion. Rossi has always maintained his desire to stay with Yamaha so long as they are competitive and the Yam is the best bike on the grid at the moment, maybe equalled by the Honda. Ducati, Kwak and Zook are all fairly similar.
West was always going to have to really perform well to stay in MotoGP. Whilst I won't quite right him off yet, somehow he has to find a heap of speed so he can be challenging Hopkins. His ride isn't lost yet if they field 3 bikes next year but it is if current form continues.
Just as a side note, I suggested Kwak should have made a big play for Dovi for this year. I think they missed the boat with that one as I reckon he will take Hayden's spot at Repsol and Bautista and Kallio will be next on team greens shopping list along with Nicky.
oh no ninja.... no one on here, on another forum that i frequent that isn't solely motorsport related...... it' more the fact that it's being reported more than it being set in stone that i'm saying i feel vindicated about.Quote:
Originally Posted by NinjaMaster
The thing with Vale looking at Kwak ultimately rests with how impressive this season is with Yamaha. At the moment Kwak is a long shot the way the M1 is going.
I totally agree with the alternates........ Bautista has to be the main goal IMHO.
Shouldn't that be "The KING and I" ...haha, sorryQuote:
Originally Posted by Roby44
Probably but Ant gets top billing in my book.
The King looks impressed to be meeting Ant..
Thank God for Ant...hes making my guys at Suzuki look good!