Kawasaki's substitute MotoGP rider, Jamie Hacking, brought his borrowed Ninja ZX-RR home in an impressive eleventh place on his premier class debut at Laguna Seca this afternoon.
The 37-year-old AMA Superbike star, deputising this weekend for injured compatriot John Hopkins, started today's 33-lap USGP from the last row of the grid, but was quick to make up places in the early stages of the race.
Hacking fought his way past Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi on lap 12, then put in a pass on Toni Elias on the next lap to move into tenth place behind AMA Superbike rival, and good friend, Ben Spies.
The Hacker spent a number of laps looking for a way past his fellow countryman, until the Suzuki pilot looked back and realised just who it was putting him under pressure. To hold off Hacking, Spies was forced to set his fastest laps of the race, which was just enough to keep Kawasaki's newest MotoGP rider at bay.
Hacking looked all set to take a top ten finish in his debut MotoGP appearance, but a resurgent Toni Elias managed to squeeze past the three-time AMA champion in the closing stages of the race, to relegate him back to a still impressive 11th at the chequered flag.
Anthony West has struggled with a lack of feeling from the front of his Ninja ZX-RR all weekend, and despite set-up changes made ahead of this morning's warm-up session, West still lacked the confidence in the front grip to push hard in the race. The 27-year-old Kawasaki pilot eventually finished in 17th place, one lap down on race winner Valentino Rossi, bitterly disappointed with his whole Laguna weekend.
Jamie Hacking - #12 - 11th Position "I'm thrilled! I didn't get the best of starts from the back of the grid, but if I'm honest I was little relieved to see everyone pulling away and leaving me to ride my own race early on. With a fairly clear track I was able to find a good rhythm on the bike, and I was soon lapping in the low 1'23s bracket. I fought my way up to Ben Spies, and I was just thinking to have a bit of a breather when he looked back and saw who was behind him. As soon as he saw it was me he upped the pace and managed to pull enough of a gap that I couldn't quite stay with him. The bike was working great, and the lap times were pretty consistent throughout the race, but then Toni Elias managed to work his way past me towards the end, which meant I just missed out on matching Roger Lee's tenth place finish from last year. Even so, I've really enjoyed my weekend as a MotoGP racer and I'd like to thank Kawasaki for giving me the opportunity. Everyone made me feel really welcome, and they are a great team to work with."
Anthony West - #13 - 17th Position "This weekend has been a huge disappointment. I had the same problems in the race that I've been having all weekend; I just don't seem to have the confidence in the front-end of the bike, and that meant I couldn't push for a good lap time at all. It's frustrating, as Jamie had the same problem at the beginning of the weekend but managed to ride around it. I need to go away from here and get it together during the summer break, so I can come back at Brno and try and score the results I know I'm capable of."
Michael Bartholemy - Kawasaki Competition Manager"Jamie has done a fantastic job all weekend, and he pushed hard and rode a great race today. He proved to everyone in his first race that our bike was capable of running at the same pace as the riders who were battling for fourth. With a higher qualifying position and a better start, he'd have been battling for position much further up the order today. I'd like to personally thank Jamie for his approach to the weekend; everyone in the team appreciated his professionalism. I know Anthony is disappointed with his performance this weekend, but it's difficult to identify exactly where his problem is at the moment. He needs to work hard now to justify his place in MotoGP. The Kawasaki Racing Team is here to secure results, and he needs to convince us he can be a part of that. We will speak to him during the summer break to see if we can find some way of improving his form ahead of the next race."
MotoGP Race Results: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 44'04.311
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +13.001
3. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +26.609
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +34.901
5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +35.663
6. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP +37.668
7. Toni Eliasw (SPA) Alice Teamw +41.629
8. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +41.927
9. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +43.019
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +44.391
11. Jamie Hacking (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +46.25817. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1 Lap
