Buzzin MotoGP

The Kawasaki team came away from the Estoril race with a much more positive outlook after securing a fifth place finish from John Hopkins.

Hopkins and teammate Anthony West had improved on their race lap times on their Ninja ZX-RR machines and were on a post race testing session the day after to see what else they could learn.

Hopkins had been working closely with Bridgestone on testing a series of rear tyre options.  After the race he was on a new specification rear tyre which he said made a huge difference to the handling of the machine and he also had redefined the set-up of the chassis that was seen for the first time on the Friday before the race.

Anthony West was disappointed with his Estoril race results and was also out on the track trying to improve on his pace.  He and his team made some alterations to the bike’s base setting which seemed to help the 26-year-old Australian to regain his feel for the machine.

West also tested a new rear tyre option which helped with the handling of the bike and proved a much smoother corner entry with more rear traction.  He completed 96 laps on his post-race test session at the Estoril track and now heads to America to continue his training before the next round of the Moto GP Championship at the Shanghai circuit in two weeks time.