More struggles for Hopkins and West

The `Team Green´ verdict on the rain-affected first day of action at the Gran Premio Parts Europe de la Comunitat Valenciana.

John Hopkins - fourteenth

`Going from the heat of Malaysia to the freezing cold conditions of Valencia has been a huge change and the conditions on circuit were pretty bad today. In the first session there was a lot of standing water on track and a lot of the guys decided to sit out the final 15-minutes as the rain worsened. It was so bad I hardly got my knee down at all and I had a few big moments out there. We had a few problems this afternoon with one of our machines, but we have spent the entire time trying to improve the rear grip of the bike. We also evaluated new engine components, but because of the conditions the results aren´t conclusive, as we weren´t able to ride at the maximum today. They say the weather is going to improve, but either way we have some things to try should it carry on raining tomorrow.´

Anthony West - fifteenth

`It is incredibly slippery out there on track, and this is a circuit that is supposed to flow, so it has been quite hard work today. The bike feels quite nervous and I can´t get hard on the brakes into the turns. Then, whenever I get on the throttle it just feels like I´m going to highside, although for some strange reason everything felt perfect at turn two. The conditions on circuit were not good, in fact many of the riders sat out the final part of the first session, so it´s difficult to see where we´re at. Hopefully things will improve for tomorrow as I´m determined to finish the final race of the year with a good result.´