MotoGP
US GP: Kawasaki Racing Team Friday notes
KAWASAKI SQUAD OUT IN FORCE AT LAGUNA The Red Bull US Grand Prix practice sessions began today, in preparation for Sunday's race: the 11th round of the 2007 MotoGP world championship. With Kawasaki running three bikes at the event, Randy de ...
Published: Jul 21, 2007, 4:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
KAWASAKI SQUAD OUT IN FORCE AT LAGUNA
The Red Bull US Grand Prix practice sessions began today, in preparation for Sunday's race: the 11th round of the 2007 MotoGP world championship.
With Kawasaki running three bikes at the event, Randy de Puniet and Anthony West were joined by wildcard AMA Superbike and Supersport regular, Roger Lee Hayden, on the 3.61km, Laguna Seca circuit and it was a constructive day for all the crews.
On combined times after the day's two sessions, de Puniet was classified 12th fastest. After clocking the highest top speed of the first practice with a recorded 256.3kmh, the 26-year-old Frenchman fell in the second session after going in to the first corner too quickly. Fortunately, he was unhurt and returned to the pits. Taking out his second bike, he took a while to settle back in to a rhythm but, by the end of the hour, was back, picking up speed and finishing just over a second off leading man of the day, Casey Stoner.
Anthony West followed closely behind, coming home 13th quickest on combined times. Today was the first time the 26-year-old Australian had ridden at the Californian track and learning it was his priority. With his laps getting progressively faster throughout the two practice sessions, he made a pretty good job of it. Just 0.034 seconds off team mate, de Puniet, West's best time was only 1.080 seconds off Stoner.
American Hayden, meanwhile, used his superior track knowledge to take the Ninja ZX-RR around the circuit with enthusiasm, regularly running times in the top ten. He ended the day in 15th position after showing the sixth highest speed of the second session: 251.5kmh. Having only ridden the Kawasaki for one day prior to this MotoGP event, Hayden impressed the team and his home fans alike with his performance.
Furthermore, the three fastest men of the day run Bridgestone rubber, which will also boost Kawasaki's confidence for the rest of the event.
The weather for both sessions was clear, warm and sunny and there's more of the same to come during the weekend. Tens of thousands of fans are expected to descend on Laguna as the track celebrates its 50th year and the team hope they'll have something to celebrate themselves when it comes to qualifying tomorrow and then the race on Sunday.
De Puniet: #14 -- 12th - Best Lap 1'24.043
"I'm ok but I had a crash at end of the start/finish straight. I went in too fast, locked the front wheel and tried to stop but couldn't, then crashed close to the wall. It was a bit like the accident last weekend at the Sachsenring. With the second bike we had some problems with rear grip, so we made some adjustments but then it started vibrating as it entered corners. Obviously, we need to fix this because it's difficult to ride at the moment. My times got better at the end but there's some work to do yet. At least I'm not injured: I banged my head but I'm ok."
West: #13 -- 13th - Best Lap 1'24.077
"I really struggled to learn the track this morning. At first, I wasn't sure where the lines were or anything but it got better and it all started to fall in to place in the last ten minutes or so. It seems the more laps I do the faster I get, which is positive. I had wanted to follow somebody around but every time I went out, there didn't seem to be anybody on the same bit of track! Still, I'm learning it on my own and maybe I'll be able to see if I can stay with the other guys tomorrow. Every time I get to the Corkscrew I'm holding my breath and worrying if I'm going to make it but it's exciting, that's for sure. Anyway, it felt good and, although the set up is not perfect yet, the times were quite consistent in the end and I hope we can continue like that tomorrow."
Hayden: #95 -- 15th -- Best Lap 1'24.325
"Things went pretty well. I'm still learning so much about the bike but managed to go faster every time I went out, which was my aim, so I'm glad about that. All in all, I think the first day went pretty well and we're just getting some ideas to maybe make the bike a bit better for tomorrow. There's been a bit of chatter, and a few little things to sort out which may help me go a little faster, but it's good, getting used to working with the crew: they're doing a great job and making me feel really welcome. I had a lot of fun out there and I just want to do my own thing. I don't want to get in anybody's way."
-credit: kawasaki
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article US GP: Rizla Suzuki Friday notes
Next article US GP: Pramac d'Antin Friday notes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Randy de Puniet
Former LCR MotoGP rider joins team in MotoE
MotoE
MotoE
Former LCR MotoGP rider joins team in MotoE
De Puniet becomes KTM tester for rest of 2018
MotoGP
MotoGP
Austrian GP
De Puniet becomes KTM tester for rest of 2018
KTM's MotoGP bike completes Jerez test
MotoGP
MotoGP
KTM's MotoGP bike completes Jerez test
Latest news
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 6 h
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 6 h
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
6 h
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 8 h
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe