Front-end problems hamper Kawasaki

West's lack of feel with the front of the bike resulted in him crashing heavily at Turn Two during second practice on Friday. Although uninjured in the accident, it dented his confidence in the bike and so hampered his ability to set quick times.

The Australian, who ended up 19th on the timesheets, said: "The conditions were quite difficult this morning, with mist still hanging around some parts of the circuit. We had some difficulties getting the bike to turn in and hold a line during the first practice session, but this was much improved for the second session this afternoon.

"We still have issues with the front-end; you need to have confidence in the front-end grip at this circuit, and it still feels a bit vague at the moment through some sections of the track. Halfway through the session I decided to push harder anyway, and that's when I lost the front under braking for turn two.

"It was a big crash, but luckily I didn't do any more damage to my back. The team are working hard now to find a solution to the front-end problem, and I'm confident that they'll have it sorted for tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions."

Hacking, who ended the day one place ahead of West, added: "The important thing is that we've made it through both practice sessions safely today.

"When I tested the bike in Japan I felt comfortable straight away, but Laguna is a very different racetrack to Autopolis and the bike feels very different here.

"We made some set-up changes for the second session this afternoon, but they didn't lead to the improvements we were expecting, which meant I wasn't able to improve on my lap time from the morning practice.

"I could have pushed a bit harder, but without the feeling from the front end there would have been some risk. We will look at improving the front-end feeling overnight, and my aim tomorrow is simply to continue making progress with the set-up of the bike.

"I'm not looking for anything crazy going into qualifying tomorrow, as long as we keep improving with every session then I'll be satisfied."