Kawasaki MotoGP rider John Hopkins has tested the same Bridgestone tyres that Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi use at Misano today but won’t be allowed to race them until more setup work has been done.
The Anglo-American worked mainly on enhancing his set-up to accommodate the Rossi-spec Bridgestone front tyre option that many of the MotoGP front-runners now use. This brought a new direction for the team, but with only a short time out on track today, he will not be able to add it to his tyre allocation without further set-up development of his Ninja ZX-RR.
"Our focus was mainly on the front-end of the machine, and we have refined our setting from this weekend by changing the way the chassis is set up," said Hopper.
"We also started work on using a Bridgestone front tyre option that both Valentino (Rossi) and Casey (Stoner) use. This meant we had to alter the bike a lot, but we are now the only team using the old type of tyre, basically because we’ve not had any chance to test.
"This new specification tyre is definitely the future for us, but unfortunately it can’t be in my allocation until we’re completely happy with the way the machine handles with it. I’m pleased with the results of today’s test, but still have a lot of catching up to do with the upgraded bike."
