Hopkins hails Kawasaki's step forward

The American, who last rode the Ninja ZX-RR at the Jerez test in December, is upbeat about the progress made and hopes to see even more steps forward during this week's first test of the year.

"Today was all about getting back up to speed on the bike after such a long layoff, but still we managed to test some new chassis and engine components, with positive results," said Hopkins, who ended the first day of testing 11th on the timesheets.

"Overall the bike feels improved over the bike I last rode in Jerez back in November, but we will only get to see the full potential of the new parts once we start the fine-tuning process over the next two days.

"Tomorrow we start tyre testing with Bridgestone, but we'll also continue working to improve the set-up of the bike, before switching back to focus on this completely during the final day here in Sepang. It's been a good start today, but tomorrow the real work begins."

Teammate Anthony West admitted he took some time to get back up to full speed on his bike, and was thankful to have escaped without injury after a fall late in the day.

"The first day back on the bike after a long break is always a bit of an experience," said the Australian. "You feel like you're really motoring, only to come back to the pit box and find out that you're way off race pace. But it all comes back quite quickly, and I managed to improve my times with every run today.

"Unfortunately my day ended slightly earlier than was planned, after I lost the front at the hairpin. I turned in at the same speed as on my previous laps, but I think my line was a little bit different and I hit a bump as a result.

"Anyway, the front tucked under and down I went, luckily without injury. Despite the crash it's good to finally get the season underway, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow."