Spanish Grand Prix - Jerez

SPANISH GRAND PRIX - JEREZ

SUNDAY 5TH MAY

POST RACE - COUNTER PROTEST

Red Bull Yamaha were the target of a last minute protest by MS Aprilia Team Rider, Regis Laconi. Laconi and his team reported to the race officials that Red Bull Yamaha rider Garry McCoy and Jeremy McWilliams from the Proton Team KR,
passed him under a yellow flag on the final lap of the Spanish GP. The yellow flag was a result of a track invasion by eager Spanish fans running onto the track.

Peter Clifford, Team Manager, reviewed the protest and lodged a counter claim with the Race Director based on the Analysis by Lap and the Chronological Analysis of Performance Data over the final few laps.

Clifford claims that Laconi was slowing down in the final 2 laps and at 7.30pm some 4.5 hours after the race completion the final results became official and the it was announced that the protest by Laconi was successul. The FIM inflicted a 5 second penalty on both McCoy and McWilliams. McCoy dropped from 13th to 15th in the final placings and in a twist of luck for John Hopkins he moved up the ladder from 15th to 13th place. Newcomer Hopkins now finds himself 15th on the Championship ladder with McCoy now in a disappointing 20th.

JOHN HOPKINS- 13TH Place

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATION - 15th with 9 points

GARRY McCOY - 15th Place

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATION - 20th with 7 points

PETER CLIFFORD - TEAM MANAGER
"Garry and Jeremy passed Regis as he slowed with mechanical problems. Unfortunately this coincided with a police track invasion and showing of some yellow flags for which the organisers were fined. Our contention is that passing an ailing machine should not be seen as a flaunting of the yellow flag safety rule but our view was not shared by the FIM."

SPANISH GRAND PRIX - JEREZ

SUNDAY 5TH MAY


RACE DAY

Red Bull Yamaha Team Riders, Garry McCoy and John (Hopper) Hopkins both scored points in the sun-blessed conditions at Jerez today. Finishing the 119 km race in 13th and 15th respectively, the riders battled each other back and forth throughout the early stages of the 27 lap race when on lap 20, McCoy (who was riding after having a pain killer injection) exerted his experience, and passed Hopkins.

Garry McCoy - 13th Place
World Championship Classification 14th Nine points

"Starting at the back of the grid makes it difficult to get on the pace and I struggled again with the right hand corners as my leg is still not strong enough. With my sliding style of riding I need maximum strength in my legs. I actually feel more comfortable on the bike than when walking and I am going through an intensive exercise regime to regain my strength. I guess considering everything to score point 3 points is okay.

John Hopkins - 15th Place
World Championship Classification 20th Seven Points

"I've scored points now at every race which I am happy about, as each track is new to me and I am still learning the bike.  Today I had a good strong start but I got bumped going into turn 2 and things got a bit heated. Three or four riders got by me and it took me another lap to get focused again. Garry passed me in the last third of the race and I started to pick up my pace behind him. I'm pretty happy generally, I feel quite fit and I'm looking forward to the test next week in Mugello."


Peter Clifford - Team Manager
"The pace the guys ran at toward the end of the race was the same as the mid-field but we lost too much ground early on. It was obviously a very tough race for Garry and good experience for John." 

SATURDAY 4TH MAY

OFFICIAL QUALIFYING


John Hopkins - 16th 1'43.916

"I am really pleased, this is my best grid position of the season and I am getting a better understanding of the bike now. I made an improvement of 2.3 seconds from yesterday and I also improved on my morning time by half a second. 

"Last night I really concentrated on the track and thought about where I could make up some time. I knew there was an opportunity for me to do this on Turn 1 and 2 and into the fast right handers and today I have these results. I feel much more stable and comfortable on the bike after a few changes to the braking setup. I will spend tonight focusing on the race, especially the start from my grid position on outside of the 4th row."

John and Desiree relaxing in their new home away from in the paddock. (Jerez Saturday after Qualifying) 

Johns King of the road in his new fifth wheeler.(large motorhome) 

Colin Davies (Race Engineer - John Hopkins)

"Hopper (John) is more comfortable with the front end of the bike now after we made a few chassis modifications overnight and I am pleased with the results this brought today. We will decide on the rear tyre tomorrow but generally we are quite comfortable with the choice Dunlop has provided us with. John is giving the team good feedback and he really knows what is happening underneath him."

Garry McCoy - 18th 1'44.212

"I am not happy with the dirt on the track and if you go a fraction off line your sliding a lot and there's no grip in these dusty conditions. Even though I am 1.1 seconds faster than yesterday, it feels like it is going to be one of those weekends."

Christophe Bourguignon(Race Engineer - Garry McCoy)

"We are not in a good position to start the race but I am confident that if Garry gets a good start that he can stay with the leading group. We now know our race tyres for tomorrow and we have a few more modifications to make in the race-set up.  Still, it is hard for Garry as he is not able to move the bike as much around as he likes." 

FRIDAY 3RD MAY

QUALIFYING PRACTICE NO. 1

GARRY McCOY- 14TH - 1'45.398

"I'm finding the track slippery and the conditions are very dusty. We're working on the tyre and chassis set up to find what will give me grip. For me it also seemed a bit windy in that session and I'm still having trouble in the right handers because of my leg but I'm feeling okay."


JOHN HOPKINS ­ 19TH - 1'46.221

"This is my first time at this track and I'm trying to find my limits on how hard to push. The track here is so much smoother than South Africa but the dust here is a problem. The track is really dusty and I don't want to risk running wide in these conditions. I'm keeping it on line as its loose out there. 

Still I'm looking okay and we have some fine tuning to do before tomorrow. We're up in the air on tyre choice at the moment and we have a few more suspension adjustments to make".