Zoom Anthony West

Anthony West was the sole Kawasaki rider on the timesheet after today's two free practice sessions at Misano Adriatico, after complications with the rib injury he sustained in a practice crash at Brno forced John Hopkins to sit out the opening track sessions.

Following his career-best MotoGP result last time out at Brno, West was looking forward to boarding his Ninja ZX-RR this weekend at the San Marino circuit.

However, the 27-year-old Australian has been plagued with a lack of confidence in the front-end of his race machine around the 4.20km track, and was disappointed not to have made more of an impression on the rest of the field.

West utilized the two hour-long practice sessions to revise his race set-up to suit the relatively bumpy and tight features of the Misano circuit, while finding a suitable Bridgestone tyre option for Sunday's 28-lap Grand Prix. The Kawasaki pilot ended the day 17th on the time sheets, and will work closely with his crew tomorrow to find a solution to improve the front-end feedback from his machine.

"We came here in good spirits following the last race, but it's been quite a frustrating day for us”, he admitted. “We worked closely with Bridgestone throughout both sessions to find improved confidence in the front-end of my machine, yet we've ended the day in only 17th place. The bike feels very nervous, particularly in the bumpy sections of the circuit, which means I just can't get hard on the brakes and into the turns. Our set-up from Brno just isn't working here so we need to revise our direction to suit this circuit, and hopefully, as we did last time out, we can make a big improvement tomorrow."

Hopkins suffered a displaced intercostal muscle in the Brno crash two weeks ago, and despite the injury healing well over the last week, the Anglo-American accidentally aggravated the injury on Thursday evening, with the accompanying pain resulting in a restless night for the Kawasaki pilot.

It was decided that, on safety grounds, Hopkins would not board the bike today, as the distraction of the injury, combined with the lack of rest that the Kawasaki pilot has suffered, would hinder his ability to focus one-hundred percent while on track.

Hopkins, who is still in some discomfort, will be back on track for tomorrow's qualifying if he responds well enough to the intense treatment he has been receiving at regular intervals during today.