Kawasaki's John Hopkins and Anthony West were disappointed to finish today's free practice at Jerez in 14th and 17th place respectively, after encountering rear traction problems during the two hour-long sessions. Having missed out on the opportunity for extensive tyre testing during the IRTA test at Jerez, due to the injury he sustained in Phillip Island, Hopkins initially found himself at a disadvantage compared to his factory rivals, all of whom had identified suitable race tyres during their last visit to the 4.423km Circuito de Jerez back in February.