MotoGP 2002 - Round 14 - Race - Sepang

Australian GP beginner Andrew Pitt brought the brand new prototype Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR to its first GP finish at Sepang today, with a steady ride to 19th in baking hot conditions that saw three other starters fall by the wayside.

Pitt, 2001 World Supersport champion, was just six seconds behind Yamaha-mounted John Hopkins at the end of the race, after lapping steadily at the back of the field to give the lime-green bike a faultless first race finish at the second attempt.

The Kawasaki will race at the final two rounds of the season, in Australia and Valencia, in preparation for a full first season next year.

Andrew Pitt – 19th - "The biggest experience was to learn how to ride with the bike sliding. I managed to maintain my lap times all the way to the finish, and it was good to get into the rhythm. Only at the beginning I made too many mistake, because I tried too hard in the first few laps. I opened the throttle too early and too hard, the way I used to do it with the 600, and I had a few big moments because of that. Now I’m looking forward to Phillip Island where we will try some modifications with my seating position and with the handlebars. I would have liked to take same points here, and now I’ll try to do that in Australia!!"

Harald Eckl - Team Manager - "The most important thing for Andrew and for us was to get a race finish. Andrew could have pushed a little harder in the beginning of the race, but he only experienced later on that the bike was still easy to control when it started sliding. He maintained his pace all the way through and he did lap times in the 2.10’s, whereas John Hopkins in front of him slowed down to 2.11’s. I’m sure Andrew will be faster again at his home track where he won the World Supersport race at the beginning of the season!"

Oct 13 - Round 14 - Reports from Sepang - Red Bull - Dorna - Marlboro Yamaha - HRC - Proton - Kawasaki - Suzuki -
Oct 13 - Round 14 - 125 Result - 250 Result - MotoGP Result -
Oct 12 - Round 14 - Reports from Final Qualifying - Yamaha - Proton - Kawasaki - HRC -
Oct 12 - Round 14 - 125 Grid - MotoGP Grid - 250 Grid -
Oct 12 - Round 14 - Saturday morning practice at Sepang
Oct 11 - Round 14 - Team Reports from first qualifying at the Malaysian GP - Yamaha - Kawasaki - Proton -
Oct 11 - Round 14 - Stoner 12th in 250 first qualifying
Oct 11 - Round 14 - First Qualifying from Sepang, Andrew Pitt and the new Kawasaki are five seconds off the pace
Oct 11 - Round 14 - Josh Waters was 32nd fastest out of 34 riders in 125 first qualifying, just ahead of his team-mate
Oct 11 - News - Wayne Gardner crashed heavily during qualifying for the Bathurst Endurance car race this morning. Today is also his 43rd birthday, reports suggest Gardner was slightly concussed but he has now been released from the medical centre
Oct 11 - Round 14 - MotoGP First Practice, Sepang
Oct 10 - News - Young Casey Stoner has at least one race win under his belt so far at Sepang, today he beat Biaggi, Barros and Rossi in a Go-Kart race at the Malaysian circuit. Stoner had qualified on pole for the kart race but then it was started on a reverse grid, so Casey had to charge through the pack from behind and still took the win!
Oct 10 - Round 14 - Yamaha explain the set-up criteria for Sepang
Oct 10 - News - Proton's V5 on track, Aoki and McWilliams to continue in 2003
Oct 10 - Walk back in time - Sepang 2001 - Sepang 2000 -
Oct 10 - News - First Colin Edwards was rumoured to be heading to Ducati SBK for 2003, then Yamaha GP, then Honda GP and the latest on the merry-go-round is an Aprilia GP bike..........Where ever it stops nobody knows...........
Oct 10 - News - Clint Farr Memorial Trophy to be staged in conjunction with the SKYY Vodka Australian MotoGP
Oct 10 - Round 14 - HRC Preview Sepang -
Oct 8 - News - Bayliss completes his first MotoGP test