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| British Grand Prix 2002Race Day - Sunday July 14th 2002 HOPKINS 8TH IN HIS 8TH GP WHILE McCOY COMES BACK STRONGRed Bull Yamaha Riders, Garry McCoy and John Hopkins both had solid
performances at Donington Park today, finishing in the points and moving the Red
Bull Team one place further forward into 6th position in the Team World Title
chase. In front of a 60,000 strong crowd, McCoy ended his run of bad luck at
Donington and finished in 12th place moving up 6 places from his grid position.
McCoy seems fit and strong and eagerly wants to get to Germany to get some more
time on the bike. John Hopkins - 8th place - scoring 8 points today "I got off the line really well but then during the first few corners I made
some mistakes and lost some places. I clawed my way back up through the pack and
diced it up with Kato, Gibernau, Jacque and Roberts. All in all I'm happy with
my result and I'm in the points again but I'm disappointed that I couldn't have
got a better result considering the great tyres we had. The Dunlops were
excellent, really great. Garry McCoy - 12th place - scoring 4 points today "It feels good to finish a race and to be mixing it up with a few guys during
the race. That's certainly much better than riding alone. In the end of the race
it got a bit slippery and I just concentrated on finishing the race. My leg and
ankle feel fine and I have to take it a little bit at a time and have a better
go at Germany." "I'm pleased with the result today to again finish in the Top 8 but the
result could have been a lot better if John would of had a better first lap. I
know John can run with those who finished further up the field but still I am
very pleased with the result in this his eighth Grand Prix." "Its good to have Garry back and everyone appreciates seeing him back and
sliding again. It's a good step forward for us today and Garry was doing decent
lap times from Lap one all the way to the last lap." "It's the first time that John has really raced against World Champions and
its great to see he has no problems with running their pace and dicing with
them. Certainly the first lap was frustrating for him but that's just a lack of
experience. Garry started to slide the bike around like we know he can and I'm
sure we'll see more of the old Gaz at Sachsenring." Final Qualifying - Saturday July 13th 2002 HOPKINS HITS THE SECOND ROWJohn Hopkins has claimed the British GP as his "Home away from Home" race and
his brilliant performance again today is winning him plenty of English fans. In
the final qualifying session, Hopper was red-hot in the closing few minutes,
pushing his two stroke Yamaha to the limit, to again claim the best performing
YZR 500 of the day. Hopkins who is younger than the reigning 125 Champion Manuel
Poggiali and the current leader of the 250 Championship, Marco Melandri is in
only the 8th GP of his career, making this, his rookie year simply outstanding.
"Hopper" achieved a 6th place grid position in Barcelona in Round 6 of the
Championship. John Hopkins: 6th - 1'31.977 "I achieved the time I wanted in the session getting into the 31's but I
really was aiming for a front row start. I made a couple of mistakes in the
final few hot laps when I was pushing really hard so I didn't have a clean run
all the way through. I'm on the 2nd row in 6th position so I've equalled my best
grid position of the season. My bikes working really well here and I'm confident
that I will race well." Garry McCoy - 18th 1'33.153 "I'm a little disappointed. I thought I could of done better than that but maybe I'm expecting too much first time back after a long break. My best lap was on a race tyre and I really still haven't got use to getting the maximum out of a qualifying tyre which it seems the other guys are able to do." Colin Davies (Race Engineer - John Hopkins) "A great session from John today and his done a fantastic job considering he has never raced here before. The crew did a good job in getting John's bike ready after this morning's tumble in the free practice. We really have to thank Dunlop, they are making great progress with the tyres and we're very pleased with the tyre-related feedback from John. Christophe Bourguignon (Race Engineer -Garry McCoy) "Well, we are disappointed with our grid position but tomorrow is race day and that's what counts. Garry did his best lap on a race tyre today and I'm confident that he will race better than he qualified today." Peter Clifford - Team Manager "Another sensational day from John and Garry has obviously clicked into gear
as far as the race tyres are concerned but a blinding fast qualifying lap wasn't
on the cards in his first outing." Qualifying No. 1 Friday July 12th 2002 RED HOT DAY FOR HOPKINS ON THE RED BULLJohn Hopkins had an amazing afternoon at Donington today claiming 4th place
on the provisional grid for the British GP. Hopkins who is the youngest
permanent Moto GP rider by over 4 years was in dazzling form today flying onto
the front row on his second last lap. In only the 8th GP of his career this is a
truly outstanding performance from the 19 year old American. "This is a dream come true, provisional front row in only my 8th GP. I've
been working really hard to get to this point and I'm so happy that my family
are here to see me at my best yet." "My leg and ankle feel fine and I'm not even thinking about it. I'm a little
surprised at my times given its my first day back, I thought I would have been a
bit further behind. Now it's just a matter of getting up to speed. I tried a
qualifying tyre in the last few minutes but it's been a while since I've been in
that situation and for one lap you can't make a mistake." "John got held up on the last lap and I know he could of improved but Sete
held him up the bike is working really well, we've got a good race tyre already
and I know he has more to come yet. As John gets more time on the circuit he'll
continue to improve." "It is a good step forward today and we tried a few various set-ups and tyres.
We are now using a new generation Dunlop Tyre and its Garry's first time riding
on these." "Its great to have Gaz back and good to see him moving the motorcycle around.
He obviously just needs a little time to get back to his awesome best. John's
front row position is magnificent and fractionally under the lap record still
held by Simon Crafer on the Dunlop shod Red Bull Yamaha from '98." McCOY BACK FOR BRITISH GPGarry McCoy is back on his Red Bull Yamaha for the British Grand Prix this
weekend fit and eager to battle it out with the best of them at Donington Park
in the English Midlands. McCoy who is now in his 4th Season with the Red Bull
Yamaha Team has confirmed his contract for the 2003 Season with the Red Bull
Team and is pleased to be able to return to racing, knowing that all is in place
for next season. John Hopkins - His Home Away from Home GP at DoningtonThe 19 -year-old American rookie who scored his best result of the Season in
Assen in 7th position, is aiming for another Top 10 finish this weekend.
"Hopper" who was born in the USA to English parents is treating this weekend
like a home away from home GP.
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