Kawasaki
The 2008 MotoGP World Championship got off to a nail-biting start today at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The first race of the year saw new faces and old hands battling it out for podium places, providing some of the most gripping premier class racing for some time.
Kawasaki's John Hopkins started the night on great form, finishing fourth overall in the early-evening warm up, and things were looking positive as the #21 rider got a solid start when the race began at 23:00 hours, local time. He made it up to ninth position in the first few laps but, as the race continued under the extensive floodlights of the 5.38km circuit, he began having problems with front-end grip. Having to fight the bike and hold it up on his leg, the pain of his injured abductor muscle took its toll and he started losing time. Hopper eventually finished the race in 12th place, picking up four championship points.
It was a heroic effort by the 24-year-old Anglo-American, riding at considerably less than peak fitness and, although frustrated not to have finished further up the field, his performance gives an indication of what he will be capable of when he returns to full health and track conditions improve in warmer climes.
Meanwhile, Hopkins's team mate, Anthony West, also had a hard race, starting from the back of the grid after a difficult weekend in which he struggled to find his form on the Ninja ZX-RR. Having crashed during the weekend's earlier practice sessions, his confidence had dropped and he, like his team mate, struggled with the tricky conditions on the track, caused by low night time temperatures in the Qatari desert. The 27-year-old Australian crossed the line in 16th position at this, the start of his first full season in MotoGP.
Whilst it wasn't the night that Kawasaki was hoping for, lessons have been learned and injuries will hopefully soon be fully healed, enabling the squad to be on top form at the next round at Jerez, Spain, on 30th March.
John Hopkins: Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #21 - 12th
"The first half of the race felt good, and I was pretty comfortable running inside the top ten. But then, at about half race distance, the performance of the front tyre went off, and it started sliding in the turns. I had no option but to hold the bike up on my knee, but that put a lot of pressure on my injury. The pain built up very quickly, and by two-thirds distance it was excruciating. If it had just been pain then I could have ridden through it, but in the end I simply ran out of strength in the injured muscle, and I just couldn't maintain my lap times. It was hard to make it all the way to the end of the race, but although I'm disappointed not to have finished higher, at least I know that the injury wouldn't have been a limiting factor if it hadn't been for the tyre problem. This gives me some confidence going into the next race at Jerez."
Anthony West: Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13 - 16th
"What can I say? Obviously I'm bitterly disappointed with my result today, because I'm not here to finish at the back of the field. I was suffering with the same problems I had in practice and qualifying and I still didn't feel totally comfortable on the bike. At around half race distance I started to feel more confident, and in some sections of the circuit I was much faster than Guintoli and Elias, who were in front of me. Through the final section I could get right alongside them, but I just didn't have enough speed to pass. And then, as soon as we hit the straight, they cleared off. This has been a weekend to forget, but I need to put it behind me now and focus on the next race at Jerez."
Michael Bartholemy: Kawasaki Competition Manager
"It's been a difficult weekend for us, as throughout practice we struggled with the track conditions. But then John's fourth fastest time during this evening's warm-up session meant that we went into the race with increased expectations of a good result. Things were looking good, but then John's front tyre went off, and he struggled to compensate due to his groin injury. But even then he didn't give up; I don't think I've ever seen anyone lifted off a bike in so much pain at the end of a race. He's one hard rider. Anthony is obviously disappointed with his performance this weekend, but he needs to avoid the temptation to beat himself up over it, and instead focus on regaining his form for the next race at Jerez. We know he's capable of much more, and I hope he will fulfil his potential properly next time out."
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
Loris Capirossi marked his debut with the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team by claiming a hard-earned eighth position at the first race of the season in Qatar.
Starting from 13th on the grid, Capirossi fought his way through the field to eighth on lap five, maintaining that position for the rest of the 22-lap race. Capirossi came under heavy pressure in the final laps from Randy de Puniet, but the 34-year-old Italian used all his experience to fight off the challenge and preserve his place.
Chris Vermeulen made a good start to the first-ever night race and improved on his grid position early on, but a suspected fault with his front tyre caused the Australian to pit. After rejoining the race with a new front tyre fitted, he tried to make up places to score valuable championship points, but finished the race just outside the scoring positions in 17th place.
Today's race was the first held under floodlights and the honour of being the first rider to win a Grand Prix on asphalt at night went to reigning World Champion Casey Stoner on his factory Ducati.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now moves back to Europe for the second round of the season on Sunday 30th March, to be held at Jerez in Spain.
Loris Capirossi:
"For sure I am not happy because our target is to fight for the podium or victories, and at the moment we are a bit off that. We tried to do our best in the race and compared to the test and the practices here this week we certainly went a little bit better in the race. We still have to continue to improve our entire package so we can be running at the front. I really want to thank my team because they gave me a good opportunity to try my best this weekend with the bike they prepared for me. We now have another 17 races left and we can certainly improve a lot in them!"
Chris Vermeulen:
"Not a great start to the season! I made a good start and got off the line well. I was in a good position, but I had an issue with the front tyre right from the first lap. It just didn't work and after five laps it was completely destroyed, so I had to come in and get a new one fitted. We will have to look at it with Bridgestone and find out why it happened. After we replaced the tyre – with the same spec one – I went back out and just tried to stay out of everyone's way. I ended up following Loris in his battle with de Puniet and I was comfortable doing those lap-times at the end when I had a decent front tyre in. It's a shame really, and although I don't think we had the pace to run with the front group I felt like I could have scored a lot more points than we have now."
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
"Firstly we have to say that it was a proud moment for Suzuki and the team to see Loris make his first start in a Grand Prix on the GSV-R. It is no secret that we had a difficult test here a week ago and Loris's 13th position on the grid didn't make a top result easy. It was great to see him push so hard and fight his way through - unfortunately by the time he got to eighth position the lead group had gone and there was nothing more he could do other than maintain his position. He apologised to the team after the race for the result, but there was no need to do so – he gave his maximum and I think we will have many better days than this one.
"As for Chris we are all disappointed, so much so that it is difficult to put into words because without question he has the ability to challenge at the front. He made a great start and a good first lap to get himself into a good position, but suffered a very unusual problem with the front tyre that made the bike almost unrideable. He handled himself professionally and I'd like to thank him for getting back out out there in case there were any points to be had.
"We now move to Jerez in a better frame of mind and in a better starting position than we were a week ago. We are certainly looking forward to building on our potential from there on!"
LCR Honda
Losail, 9 March: LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet finished in 9th position the first ever World Championship night race at Qatar floodlit track. With a track temperature of 19° the premier class riders got underway the first GP of the 2008 season at 23:00 local time. Following on from an impressive practice sessions, Stoner won the opening round followed by Yamaha rider Lorenzo and HRC Spaniard Dani Pedrosa.
After struggling for front end lack of grip in yesterday's both sessions, the Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V nr. 14 started from the 5th position for the 22-lap event but he had a wrong feeling in the first two laps loosing the chance to catch the group ahead. Once he got a better feeling, the Frenchman managed to finish in the top 10 and this is his first ever time finish of the Qatar GP.
Randy De Puniet:
"After the good testing days of last week and the pace we had yesterday in race trim I was expecting something better. Honestly my start was not perfect but in the first two laps I rode the bike on the ice! I was not absolutely comfortable with the front and I struggled to stand up. Then the situation improved and I started to lap consistently fast overtaking a couple of riders. In the last 5 laps I tried my best to pass Capirossi but his bike acceleration was better than mine. By the way the top ten position is a positive result for me as this is the first ever time that I have finished this race".
Team San Carlo Honda Gresini
The opening round of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship started out in difficult fashion for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini under the night sky of Doha. The Grand Prix of Qatar, the first ever to take place under floodlights, saw Shinya Nakano pick up points in thirteenth position after a battle with factory Kawasaki rider John Hopkins.
Alex de Angelis started his MotoGP debut in determined fashion, gathering pace and confidence with his Bridgestone-shod Honda RC212V. After starting to make up positions, the San Marino rider crashed out of the race just five laps from the end.
The team now head home to prepare for the next Grand Prix, which takes place on the 30th March at Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain, where the last IRTA tests took place.
Alex de Angelis (crashed five laps from the end):
“I’m really disappointed with the today’s race because it seems my bike was slower than the others on the straight, and I kept getting passed by riders coming out of my slipstream and overtaking me on top speed. Throughout the whole race I didn’t manage to get back on the pace I’d set all weekend here and in the tests a week ago and that’s disappointing because I’m sure I could have fought with the group in front. It’s a shame we didn’t come away with a result but we at least know we have potential.”
Shinya Nakano (13th):
“We knew after free practice and qualifying that this was going to be a tough race for us. I lost a few positions at the start but started to make up ground after a few laps. By the end I was battling with the group in front and I reached the 13th place. This isn’t the result we were hoping for so we have to improve next time. I’m confident for Jerez – we’ve tested there and we have a lot of good data to work from.”
Fausto Gresini – Team Manager:
”It has been a difficult day and we expected something more. With Alex we had a few problems with chattering and he wasn’t able to ride as he has all weekend. It’s a shame he wasn’t able to reproduce his pace from practice in the race. This made it difficult for him and led to the crash. He has grown though and never stopped fighting. Things were a little better for Shinya but he was also further back than we’d hoped. Now we have to be positive for Jerez because we have better potential.”