Mugello, Italy
ITALIAN GRAND PRIX 2002
SUNDAY 2ND JUNE - RACE DAY
John Hopkins 12th Place
World Championship Classification 15th with 18 points
"I didn't get the start I wanted and I got squeezed out early on. I was
riding behind Jean-Michel and could not get around him for what seemed to be a
long time. I ended up passing JMB and vd Goorbergh under brakes going into Turn
1, which is where I passed McWilliams later in the race. It was close racing
with McWilliams we bumped off each other all through turn 1 and into the apex on
2.
These are the hottest conditions I have raced in all year and I feel happy that
I have scored points again for my team and myself. I saw a few of the guys go
off during the race and the track invasion at the end was unbelievable. I saw
Abe get taken off his bike by a fan and Nakano who was in front of me locked it
up big time to avoid hitting another person. I was maybe an inch away from
hitting someone on the front straight myself. Its good that the fans love
racing and support the Grand Prix but it is really dangerous out there at the
end."
Colin Davies (Race Engineer - John Hopkins)
"John was running times in the second half of the race that could of put him
up into sixth or seventh position. We are very pleased with the progress he is
making this his first Season. Last night the mechanics did a good job in getting
John's bike ready for the race and I thank them for all their effort."
Jean-Michel Bayle - 13th place scoring 3 points
"I got a good start and went okay in the beginning of the race but my left
forearm began to hurt and it slowed me down through the chicanes. The softer
tyre performed better than I thought it would throughout the race and we are
making good progress with Dunlop.
"I knew to expect the crowd invasion so it was no surprise for me. This week I
will test the Red Bull Yamaha at Assen and I will concentrate on the tyres and
the set-up for that race. Also I have to learn my way around a few new corners
in Assen."
Christophe Bourguignon (Race Engineer - Jean- Michel Bayle)
"We are pleased with the weekend, we again learnt a lot about the tyres and
each weekend we are making steady progress. Today we rode with a soft medium
front and back tyre. Jean-Michel rode with pain in his left forearm and this
caused him some concern toward the end of the race. JMB slid on the front tyre
a few times and he paced himself toward the finish."
Peter Clifford - Team Manager
"A good ride for John again today, finishing in 12th place. For the second
half of the race he was running similar lap times as the riders in the Top 6. I
really appreciate the effort that Jean-Michel Bayle has put in today in taking a
risk to try a softer tyre which might not have gone the full distance, but it
has been worthwhile."
SATURDAY 1ST JUNE - FINAL QUALIFYING
HOPKINS ACHIEVES HIS BEST GRID POSITION AT MUGELLO
Red Bull Yamaha riders John Hopkins and Jean-Michel Bayle both improved their
times in this afternoon's qualifying session. Hopkins improved by 0.427 seconds
and has placed himself on the inside of the 4th row, his highest grid position
in short but outstanding Moto GP racing career. Hopkins has scored points in
every single GP so far this season and aims to finish the Italian GP in the Top
10. Jean-Michel Bayle, the Teams Test Rider for 2002 who is the replacement
rider for the injured Garry McCoy, clocked a time 0.699 seconds faster than his
Friday session.
JOHN HOPKINS - 13th at 1'52.923
"I feel okay after the crash but I am really pissed off over the entire crash
situation. The bike just slid, and I stayed with it, holding the same body
position all the way. I jumped onto my second bike soon as I got back into the
garage and ended up doing a better time on it. I tried really hard not to think
about what happened in the lap when I crashed, I just focused on going faster. I
have set my sights on a Top 10 finish in the race and I will be trying my best
to race with the pack on the second row."
Colin Davies - Race Engineer for John Hopkins
"John is more comfortable on his number one bike that he crashed early in the
qualifying session even though he did set his best time on the second bike this
afternoon. We tried a couple of different tyres throughout that session and we
have made our decision on what tyres to race with. Tonight we will repair the
bike from Johns crash today. We don't have to change the frame because we have
already checked it and it is straight."
JEAN-MICHEL BAYLE - 17th at 1'53.440
"I am happy with today, the bike felt really good both this morning and this
afternoon, I improved on my time from yesterday so this is good. I have found a
race tyre for tomorrow and the set-up is fine.
"This is now my second race on the Red Bull Yamaha, I try to improve the bike
and myself at each race."
Christophe Bourguignon - Race Engineer for Jean-Michel Bayle
"I am really pleased with the tyre selection that Dunlop have given us this
weekend and Jean-Michel did a good job to improve on his time from yesterday by
0.699 seconds. We now have a good set-up for the race tomorrow"
Peter Clifford - Team Manager
"Great to see that John could bounce back from this off half way through the
session to go quicker than yesterday. It's the first time he has fallen during
practice and its important that he can shake if off and go quickly again.
Jean-Michel Bayle continues his valuable role helping sort out the huge number
of tyres that Dunlop are supplying us with."
FRIDAY 31ST MAY QUALIFYING NO. 1
HOPKINS FLIES ON FASTEST TWO STROKE YAMAHA
Rookie John "Hopper" Hopkins the 19 year old American put in a hot lap in
this afternoon's qualifying session in Mugello to finish in seventh position
after holding second during the session. Hopkins was the fastest 2 stroke Yamaha
on the track this afternoon and finished an impressive 7 positions ahead of the
nearest Yamaha 2 stroke rival Shinya Nakano. Hopkins continues on to improve in
his debut season and after clocking the fastest top speed of all the Yamaha 2
strokes this morning, he was feeling good about the afternoon's session.
JOHN HOPKINS - 7th at 1'53.350
"I feel really good, I'm really happy. I got warmed up, found my rhythm and came
in for a quick tyre change. We put on a qualifier early in the session because we were concerned about the rain. I went out there and I knew I
was going fast. I made time on Ukawa and got a good draft from his 4 stroke. I pushed it hard in the first section and held it until the
end of the lap.
"This is the first track that I have qualified on that I have actually been to
before, so I know which way I am going around here and that helps a lot. My biggest help though is my Mom, she's here this weekend and it's the
first time she's seen me on the Red Bull Yamaha. It's great having her here."
Colin Davies - Race Engineer for John Hopkins
"We put on a qualifying tyre early because we were a bit concerned about the
rain. John got out onto the track at a good time and followed Ukawa on the 4 stroke. We have a pretty good race set-up and our recent testing
session here has proved to be valuable. The bike is pretty good as it is now, we just have some minor fine-tuning to do. The Dunlop that
John set his best time with today may even be considered for the race. We aim to finish in the Top 10 on Sunday and we've had a good first
day to get us started."
JEAN-MICHEL BAYLE - 19th at 1'54.139
"We have done a lot of work since this mornings session on the gearbox and with
the tyres and overnight we have more work to do in that area. We have tried a lot of tyres already today and have made some choices for
the race. Tomorrow we have some more work to do with the race settings and we will see how it goes but today is not so bad."
Christophe Bourguignon - Race Engineer for Jean-Michel Bayle
"We will work on our race set-up overnight to find the right combination for
Sunday. We have a good base line to work from and we are pleased with JMB session this afternoon."
Peter Clifford - Team Manager
"Brilliant, we never believe in getting over-excited from one practice session
but this has been no bolt from the blue. Itıs the next step forward after some solid progress."
| 
