Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Circuit: Valencia
Date: 31/10/2007


SEASON FINALE LOOMS AT VALENCIA
After the highs and lows of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Randy de Puniet and Anthony West of the Kawasaki Racing Team will be heading to Spain this week, for the final round of the MotoGP World Championship at Valencia.

Sunday's race will mark the end of an era for de Puniet, who leaves Kawasaki for pastures new in 2008. This year has seen the 26-year-old develop in to one of the fastest men on the circuit and his recent results, including a second place at Motegi, illustrate how far both he and the 800cc Ninja ZX-RR have progressed throughout the season.

De Puniet has a successful history at the 4km, Ricardo Tormo track, having won the 250cc World Championship round there in 2003 and getting a third the following year, adding to a number of other top ten finishes at the venue. Last year, on the 990cc ZX-RR, he was not so lucky, crashing out on the fifth lap, so he'll certainly want to improve on that result. Judging by his recent performances, the Frenchman will be able to do just that.

West, looking stronger on the bike at every round, hopes, this weekend, to at least equal his best MotoGP qualifying position of fifth at Sepang. An error on the start line in Malaysia, when he positioned his bike incorrectly on the grid and received a ride-through penalty, cost him dearly. So the 26-year-old's priority, therefore, is to avoid any more "rookie mistakes", keep his mind on the job in hand and test the Ninja to the max around Valencia's technical layout.

And, like all the MotoGP riders, he hopes for a grand finale to an incredible year, which has seen the 26-year-old Australian quit the 250cc World Championship, then ride three races (winning two) in World Supersport, before being offered the opportunity of a lifetime to join Kawasaki's factory team in MotoGP.

Completed in 1999 and hosting its first premier class race the same year, Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit has three optional tracks and the Grand Prix one boasts nine left handers and five rights: most of them pretty tight. With its high grandstands and amphitheatrical layout, it's a dream for fans and many thousands flock to the last round of the season to get a good look at the bikes and riders on their final outing of the year.

It should prove a great race, despite the championship itself having been decided at Motegi last month. With the traditional, and vocal, support of the fans and every rider out to finish the season on a high, it'll be one to watch.


Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #14
"Valencia is a small track but, even though I usually prefer the faster circuits, I'm quite fond of it. When I rode in 250s, I won there and also got a third, so the place has been good to me! It's difficult to maintain a strong, fast level there so it's imperative to maintain maximum concentration. If you can ride without any mistakes, you can do well. I'm feeling good after the last three races, which gave me two top six finishes and a podium, so I'm hoping I can get a good result in Spain, especially as it's the last race of the season and my last race for Kawasaki. I've been with them for two years and have many good memories and I'll like to get another podium before I leave. The bike's working so well now, but we'll have to see what happens at the weekend."



Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"The circuit itself is pretty tight, and it's hard to really open bigger bikes up there, but it's a great challenge. Some sections involve a lot of hard acceleration and braking, with lots of tight hairpins that close back up on themselves. But it's a nice track to ride, you can see the whole of it from the pits: it's a bit like a go-kart track! Anyway, I hope to do well there, qualify as well as I did at Sepang but not make any stupid mistakes this time. I want to get a good result to round off the season, if I can."

Circuit: Valencia
Date: 02/11/2007


KAWASAKI WORKING TO CONQUER VALENCIA
The Grand Prix of Valencia got off to a testing start today for the Kawasaki Racing Team as the first two of the weekend's practice sessions took place at the technical, 4km Spanish circuit. However, by the end of the afternoon, there were marked improvements in both riders' performances, indicating things will progress nicely in time for Sunday's race.

After the fast, fluid circuits of the recent overseas rounds, which saw the 800cc Ninja ZX-RR come into its own, the complex, "stop and go" layout of the Valencia track proved somewhat more difficult to conquer instantaneously. However, Randy de Puniet established himself on track by the end of the second session, taking well over a second off his morning practice best.

Indeed, with a time of 1'33.519, the 26-year-old Frenchman came in sixth fastest, just 0.551 seconds behind the day's leading man, Casey Stoner, and a minuscule 0.018 seconds behind Chris Vermeulen. He also recorded a fourth-highest top speed of 298kmh, so ended both sessions with increased confidence after he and his crew had carried out numerous improvements to his bike over the course of the day.

De Puniet's team mate, Anthony West, struggled a bit more, recording a best time of 1'34.413 after the two hours' worth of practice. However, this is over half a second off his fastest of the morning and still only 1.445 seconds behind Stoner. If some early problems with grip can be solved during tomorrow's sessions, we could easily see the 26-year-old Australian moving up the field.

The Ninja, with its proven and highly-impressive power, lends itself well to more flowing tracks. Shorter, tighter circuits, such as Valencia, make for more of a challenge, something the team relishes. Therefore, there is no shortage of confidence in the Kawasaki garage that both riders will be prepared and fired-up for Saturday afternoon's qualifying.


#14 - 6th - Best Lap 1'33.519
"We've improved the bike a lot, especially regarding corner entry and exit, and it's getting better all the time. Rear grip hasn't been a particularly strong area so we've been trying a variety of different settings throughout the day. I've been riding with a hard compound tyre on the rear and, because of that, I've had quite a few slides today. We did try a softer compound but, whilst it was better with grip, we have our doubts as to whether or not it will be long-lasting enough for the race. The front's fine though. It's a tight track and it's strange to come back to this sort of layout after the circuits we've been to lately. Certainly, compared to Malaysia, there's nothing like as much grip but tomorrow's another day and we'll see where we go. My times haven't been bad at all but, without doubt, with some stronger tyres I could definitely improve my times, raising me a few places and increasing the gap behind me."



#13 - 17th - Best Lap 1'34.413
"Admittedly, I didn't feel much confidence in either the front or rear today; I'm getting a lot of movement both on entry and exit, under braking and acceleration. The grip isn't sufficient at the moment for me to ride as hard as I'd like to. But we've tried a number of things today, especially regarding the suspension, and there have been some improvements. Still, we're going to discuss it further and come up with a good strategy to increase my confidence so tomorrow I can go faster."



Kawasaki Technical Manager
"At the moment, Anthony's lacking the confidence he needs to go fast into and out of corners, so we need to concentrate on his suspension set up to make it work better for him. He is having some issues with grip at both the front and rear of the bike so we will check our data and make some improvements for his package tomorrow. With Randy, we have also seen some problems with sliding so we will work on both his set up and engine management to sort it out. Regarding tyres, we still need to see what the track temperature will do, and what conditions will be like, before making our final choices but I'm sure we can find the combinations we need. I have no doubt that we can overcome today's issues and look forward to getting both riders in a position to qualify well tomorrow."



1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'32.968; 2. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.116; 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.182; 4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini +0.351; 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.533; 6. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.551; 7. Alex Barros (BRA) Pramac d'Antin Ducati +0.573; 8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing +0.652; 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.682; 10. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.712; 17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.445

and rossi broke his hand in qualifying. and westy outqualified rossi as well....

sneakypete wrote:and rossi broke his hand in qualifying. and westy outqualified rossi as well....

Ha..... great to see the aussies at the pointy end should be a ripper race.... pity about westy

Circuit: Valencia
Date: 03/11/2007



SECOND ROW FOR DE PUNIET IN SPAIN
Qualifying practice for the final Grand Prix of the year took place at Valencia today, with Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet and Anthony West claiming fourth and 16th positions on tomorrow's grid, respectively.

De Puniet's impressive second row spot was secured by his best time of 1'31.963, with the Frenchman missing out on a front row start by a mere 0.060 to Nicky Hayden. Furthermore, he is less than half a second off pole position man, Dani Pedrosa, and he set the fastest time of the day, at 300.8kmh.

After two days' worth of practice and preparation, and having found an excellent Bridgestone tyre combination in the process, he is confident he can put in a good performance tomorrow: his race set up giving him the confidence to consistently display superb lap times even without the benefits of a qualifying tyre. Lapping in the low, one minute, 33-second region, it all bodes well for Sunday's event.

Anthony West, meanwhile, has continued to improve his times throughout the weekend, and today recorded a stunning, fourth-fastest, top speed of 296.9kmh, but remains uneasy after a disappointing session. Having struggled with grip on Friday, the 26-year-old Australian succumbed to the gravel today in a lowside at turn two but, undeterred, made his way back to pit lane to continue on his second bike.

He was not the only one who suffered in a session which saw a number of riders getting out of shape, including seven times world champion, Valentino Rossi. However, West will tomorrow grit his teeth and give it his all when the race begins. Slow progress for the 26-year-old during practice sessions has, in the past, failed to deter him from the task of taking his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR around any track with the utmost determination.

All in all, it looks as if tomorrow's 30-lap race at the 4km Ricardo Tormo circuit will be a heated affair, with the front ten qualifiers recording times within a second of Pedrosa. What's more, judging by the large amount of spectators present around the track already, and with a Spaniard on pole, it's going to be an atmospheric one at that.


#14 - 4th - Best Lap 1'31.963
"I was hoping for the first row for my last race for Kawasaki but still, my position is pretty good because it's very difficult to overtake here. We've improved the race set up hugely on the bike today and I managed to do good, consistent times during the sessions. I had a big slide on my final qualifier, just before I had to brake for a corner, so I lost a couple of tenths and, because of that, narrowly missed out on the front row. I hope to continue to improve during tomorrow's warm up but I'm feeling really good."



#13 - 16th - Best Lap 1'33.231
"I haven't been able to find my pace so far and have struggled a bit to find a good set up for tomorrow. I thought I'd show more improvement today than I have but I'm finding it harder at Valencia on the MotoGP bike than on the smaller capacity machines I've ridden here. I'm more angry than injured after my small crash, and I don't have the same confidence I had in, say, Sepang, but now I will look towards the race and do everything I can to do my best."



De Puniet's Crew Chief
"At the beginning of the afternoon, we evaluated the race tyre choices for tomorrow and I think we've found a good option for us to use. Randy managed to do some fast times on that race tyre which means he'll be able to run at a good pace on Sunday. Our goal today was to be on the front row but Randy missed out by such a small margin; I'm really pleased with the way he's been riding today and during the weekend as a whole. He suffered quite a bit of movement on the bike but it got a lot better when the track temperature rose this afternoon and, if it's like this tomorrow, I think we can expect a good result in the race."



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'31.517; 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.086; 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.386; 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.446; 5. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.557; 6. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.634; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.648; 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.744; 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR +0.756; 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini +0.850; 16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.714

Circuit: Valencia
Date: 04/11/2007


CHAMPIONSHIP ENDS AT VALENCIA
The 2007 MotoGP World Championship drew to a close at Valencia today after eight months and 18 punishing rounds and, for the Kawasaki Racing Team, it proved to be a tough race.

Randy de Puniet got off to a bad start from a promising fourth on the grid, losing five places by the end of the first lap, but was soon fighting back as the field tore around the Ricardo Tormo circuit in front of an enormous crowd. The 26-year-old Frenchman was back up to seventh by the start of lap nine, having overtaken Makoto Tamada and Alex Barros during a blaze of personal best laps.

He then closed in on Loris Capirossi, and passed the Italian who immediately moved back in front on lap 12. De Puniet held his position until problems with his tyres started to make maintaining ultimate speed through corners too difficult and he subsequently lost out to Chris Vermeulen, then Barros.

As his last race for Kawasaki, and after a weekend full of promise, it wasn't the end he was hoping for. However, he finishes the season with 108 points under his belt (very considerably more than the 37 he scored in his 2006 rookie season), a podium finish at Motegi and a very proud crew.

Team mate, Anthony West, had a tougher battle from 16th on the grid. Having struggled all weekend to find his form at the 4km track, he made it up to 14th in the early stages but soon felt unable to keep with the pack.

The 26-year-old Australian, who has been competing in MotoGP for only five months, now relishes the challenge of the forthcoming winter testing schedule, optimistic, as are his crew, that he will be able to further grasp the workings of his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR and come back next year a stronger, more consistent premier class contender.

Kawasaki did head the tables in one significant area at Valencia today: de Puniet and West recorded the two fastest speeds of the race at 298.8kmh and 297.8kmh respectively. Just one pointer that Kawasaki, and the Ninja, are moving towards an ever stronger season next year.


Position 9th
"I'm disappointed because I used a harder rear tyre, thinking that after ten or 15 laps it would prove a good choice, but I got the opposite performance. It dropped down a lot on the left hand side and the rear was locking at every corner. When I opened the throttle, I didn't find enough grip. It's a big shame because I never felt any of that during the practice sessions. It was a tough race and hard work but I rode as hard as I could to finish with as good a result as possible."



Position 16th
"The race, for me, was terrible and very long. But the good thing is I realised what my problem's been all weekend and I've been chasing the wrong issues. I thought it was all about the rear grip but actually I've just been lacking confidence in pushing the front. Now I realise that's what I should have been working on all weekend. Thirty laps around here taught me that! I'm glad winter testing's coming up and this result is going to make me more determined to do everything I can for next season. I'm going to spend the next few months training and trying to get this bike working for me so I can get faster and more consistent at every track."



Kawasaki Competition Manager
"I believe both our riders gave their best in this race, in the circumstances. Randy had a bad start but was making some excellent lap times, on a par with the riders in front of him. Anthony has not had a good weekend and we need to work with him to iron out the difficulties he's had. We now have two days testing here so he can come back to Valencia more confident next year but basically, I'm happy to finish the season as we have. I think we will come back in 2008 ready and stronger. It's been an amazing year for Kawasaki in MotoGP and we've moved forward so much. I want to thank everybody involved in making that happen. I'd also like to say that we've had a great two years with Randy and wish him very well for his future."



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'31.517; 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.086; 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.386; 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.446; 5. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.557; 6. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.634; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.648; 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.744; 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR +0.756; 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini +0.850; 16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.714