Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
01 JUNE 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONFIDENCE HIGH AS KAWASAKI HEAD FOR MUGELLO

Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet, arrive in Mugello for this weekend's Gran Premio d'Italia Alice determined to put the disappointment of Le Mans behind them.

Although de Puniet's race ended at the first corner in Le Mans, where he was the innocent victim in a chain reaction started by Valentino Rossi's overtaking manoeuvre on the entry to the new chicane, the 25-year-old Frenchman heads to Mugello full of confidence after an impressive performance during practice and qualifying for his home Grand Prix.

De Puniet suffered some ligament damage to his back in the Le Mans crash, but returns to racing at Mugello fully fit, after undergoing treatment on the injury in Paris immediately after the French Grand Prix.

For Shinya Nakano the Italian Grand Prix has proved a difficult race in the past. The fastest crash ever recorded in MotoGP two years ago was followed by a hard fought tenth place in the race last year, but Nakano arrives this time around confident that the new Ninja ZX-RR will be better suited to the 5.245km, ultra-fast Mugello circuit.

Nakano will be aided in his quest for a strong performance in Sunday's 23-lap Gran Premio d'Italia Alice by a new fairing on his Ninja ZX-RR, designed specifically to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of Kawasaki's MotoGP machine.

Designed by Kawasaki engineers in Japan, in conjunction with the same Institute of Technology involved with aerodynamic development of both aircraft and the famous Japanese bullet train, Sinkansen, the new fairing should offer some advantage along Mugello's 1100 metre main straight, where aerodynamic efficiency can have a big impact on top speed.

Randy de Puniet: #17
"I remember nothing about the Le Mans crash, but it was very disappointing not to finish in my home Grand Prix. I suffered some ligament damage in my back, but this is now okay and I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike at Mugello. Despite the crash at Le Mans I am confident ahead of this weekend's race. In France we made some big steps with the bike, as could be seen by my lap times in practice and qualifying, and I hope that we can continue at the same level this weekend in Italy. I like the Mugello circuit a lot, and I think we can put in a good performance here this weekend."

Shinya Nakano: #56
"In the past this has been a difficult race for us, but the same can be said of Le Mans, and I think our practice and qualifying performance in France shows that the new Ninja ZX-RR is a definite improvement over the old. For this reason I think we arrive in Mugello with more confidence of a good result that in previous years. Mugello is a real high-speed circuit, where braking points are critical to a fast lap, but you also need to find a good rhythm around the fast turns here. If you find a good set-up during practice and qualifying then racing here is really enjoyable. But, if you fail to find a set-up you're comfortable with then you know that Sunday's race will be real hard work! We will run a new fairing on our Ninja ZX-RR machines this weekend, which should offer some advantage along Mugello's long main straight, where outright top speed is important."

Thanks Dave
Its posts like this keep me climbing out of bed at midnight Sundays

Lets hope they DO Not Trip over themselves this weekend eh ?.

Randy needs to do some race laps on the bike & nakka's got the WORST JUMP START EVA FFS.

I loved the way that Rossi wasn't responsible for Randy's off last race. Commentators SUK lol.

Bike still seemed a little slow off the slow speed corners for my liking.

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
02 JUNE 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOP TEN FOR NAKANO IN MUGELLO FREE PRACTICE

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet finished today's second free practice in tenth and fourteenth positions respectively, as changeable weather at the Mugello circuit made for difficult conditions throughout the hour-long session.

Shinya Nakano's main aim during free practice was to run back-to-back comparison tests on his two Ninja ZX-RR machines; one of which features a new, more aerodynamically efficient, fairing and a new specification rear shock, while the other retains the same basic specification used during the French Grand Prix at Le Mans two weeks ago.

Intermittent rain during this afternoon's practice session meant that Nakano was unable to complete the planned number of laps aboard both bikes, but the 28-year-old Japanese rider is confident that the limited number of laps he was able to complete were enough to decide which specification of Ninja ZX-RR he will run during tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions.

Nakano also tested different rear tyres from Bridgestone on both machines this afternoon, but will repeat the tests tomorrow before making any decision as to which tyre he will race on this weekend.

Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, is confident that he can improve on his lap time tomorrow, after finishing this afternoon just over a second behind the fastest man on the track, Valentino Rossi.

The 25-year-old Frenchman ended today happy with the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR for the ultra-fast Mugello circuit, which he rates as one of his favourites on the MotoGP calendar.

Like Nakano, de Puniet will concentrate tomorrow morning on identifying the best tyre for Sunday's 23-lap Italian Grand Prix, before turning his attention to the all-important qualifying session tomorrow afternoon, in which he'll be looking to repeat the impressive performance in Le Mans two weeks ago that saw him start the French Grand Prix from fourth position on the grid.

Shinya Nakano: 10th - 1'52.667
"Conditions were quite changeable this afternoon. It rained just before the start of practice, so we started on wet tyres, but the track dried very quickly allowing us to switch back to slicks after just ten minutes. My two bikes were set-up quite differently this afternoon, with a new fairing and a new rear shock on one of them, so our main aim during practice was to run some back-to-back comparison tests. The conditions didn't really help with the comparison, because we had light rain on and off throughout the session, but I think we have found the direction we need to take with the set-up for tomorrow. We also tested a couple of different rear tyres from Bridgestone, but again, the conditions weren't ideal and I think we will leave any decision about race tyres until we've had a chance to do more laps during practice and qualifying tomorrow. It's always difficult coming back to such a fast track after a year away; you need to recalibrate your brain and reacquaint yourself with the all-important braking markers. But, once you've done this, it's an enjoyable track to race at."

Randy de Puniet: 14th - 1'53.129
"Both the morning and afternoon sessions were good, despite the constantly changing conditions making consistency difficult to achieve during the second session. But then the conditions were the same for everyone, and I'm happy enough with what we've achieved this afternoon. I was losing a little time through the final sector this morning, but we tried a few different lines this afternoon and I think that with a few more laps tomorrow I should be able to improve my speed through the final turn. Overall I feel comfortable on the bike, we won't make so many changes overnight, and although I'm down in 14th place on the timesheet, we're only just over a second from pole position. More importantly, I'm confident that tomorrow we can close the gap on pole position even further. I like this track. It's definitely one of the best circuits we race at, and it's a real pleasure to ride the Ninja ZX-RR here."

FREE PRACTICE 2 - FINAL TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 1'51.732; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.024; 3. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.280; 4. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.350; 5. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.369; 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.445; 7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.607; 8. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.618; 9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) JIR Konica Minolta Honda +0.734; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.935; 14. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.397

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
03 JUNE 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO QUALIFIES FIFTH FOR ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

Shinya Nakano will start from the second row of the grid in tomorrow's 23-lap Italian Grand Prix, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in fifth place during this afternoon's timed session at Mugello.

The 28-year-old Kawasaki rider used a new innovation from Bridgestone on his Ninja ZX-RR during today's practice and qualifying, in the form of a 16-inch rear tyre in place of the standard 16.5-inch slick used by every other rider in the MotoGP field.

The smaller tyre retains the rolling radius of the standard 16.5-inch slick, but taller sidewalls offer better shock absorption properties, while a more rounded profile enhances the Kawasaki's nimble handling through the many high-speed turns at Mugello.

Nakano also ran a standard rear tyre during both practice and qualifying, and will make a decision on which tyre to race after consultation with his crew and the Bridgestone tyre technicians this evening.

Randy de Puniet faces an uphill battle in tomorrow's 23-lap Italian Grand Prix, after two difficult runs on qualifying tyres during this afternoon's timed session left him down in 16th position, and facing a start from the sixth row of the grid.

Despite his qualifying position, de Puniet remains confident that he can put in a strong performance for Kawasaki in tomorrow's race, after finding a good race set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR during today's practice and qualifying sessions.

De Puniet also tested the 16-inch rear from Bridgestone today, but has opted for a standard 16.5-inch tyre for tomorrow's race. The Kawasaki rider will evaluate the new tyre further during a planned test at Mugello on the Monday after the race.

Shinya Nakano: 5th - 1'49.328
"On my last flying lap I could see Cardoso some way in front of me, so I used him as a target. I thought to myself that, if I didn't overtake him before the end of the lap, my time wouldn't be a good one, so I concentrated on chasing him down. I caught him just before the end, and as a result I qualified fifth. So, thanks for that Jose Luis! Compared to the three free practice sessions this afternoon's qualifying was much better. During free practice I was struggling to keep my times consistent, but then this afternoon everything came together and I was able to put together a string of laps in the 1'51 bracket on race tyres, which puts us in a strong position for tomorrow's race. Today we ran with a sixteen-inch rear tyre for the first time. Nobody has used this type of tyre before, so it was something of an unknown quantity, but it definitely offers some advantages compared to the standard size tyre. On corner entry the smaller tyre seems to absorb the bumps better, producing less chatter than the standard slick, and it also makes changing direction a little easier. After the jump start at Le Mans I've been practicing my starts here, using the rear brake to stop the bike creeping forward, so I'm confident there won't be any repeat performance tomorrow!"

Randy de Puniet: 16th - 1'50.597
"For sure, my qualifying position is not the best, but I can take some consolation in the fact that, on race tyres, we have a good set-up. I ran two qualifying tyres in the last fifteen minutes of the session, but I just didn't seem to be able to use them to their full potential. I don't know why, but both tyres were the same; it was strange. But, most important is that the bike is good for the race tomorrow. Starting from the sixth row of the grid for sure makes my job harder in the race tomorrow, but if I can get a good start then, hopefully, I'll be able to close the gap on the leading riders and finish with a good result."

Small vid clip from free practice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zh1h33nZY

well as usual a great race, but Kawasaki proved nothing more than cannon fodder for the other manufacturers. We need a total redesign of the bike and engine. It is just not good enough, the bike has not enough power and it just cant keep the pace up.

Well done to Rossi he rode a great race, but he's not doing it as easy as he used to.

Pontikat wrote:Lets hope they DO Not Trip over themselves this weekend eh ?.

Randy needs to do some race laps on the bike & nakka's got the WORST JUMP START EVA FFS.

I loved the way that Rossi wasn't responsible for Randy's off last race. Commentators SUK lol.

Bike still seemed a little slow off the slow speed corners for my liking.

I thought Rossi got tagged by Pedrosa forcing him into De Puniet

As per usual kwakas going backwards during the race.

What about stoner's crash!

Great race esp the battle between rossi & capirossi. Good stuff!

I really think it's Naka's letting the Kwaka down.
Its a damm fast bike physically demanding and I think its too much for him.
Fantastic race,Rossi worked hard for it too.

Redback wrote:

Pontikat wrote: I loved the way that Rossi wasn't responsible for Randy's off last race. Commentators SUK lol.

Bike still seemed a little slow off the slow speed corners for my liking.

I thought Rossi got tagged by Pedrosa forcing him into De Puniet

Nah mate Rossi Was ALL Alone on the extreme inside (Left) & WAY too late on the Picks. Even after Punting Randy into Cappi he still ran wide onto the (right side) Ripplestrip to get around the corner.

As for Mugello I agree with Pabs, Nakkers is Riding for a Finish, He's never on the bikes Limits spinning it up or backing it in.

The Bike is More Competitive then the Yamaha imho. Check out Edwards & the other Yamaha teams Qualifing Positions. Kwika is there but needs a Rider with Skill & HEART.

Pontikat wrote:
Nah mate Rossi Was ALL Alone on the extreme inside (Left) & WAY too late on the Picks. Even after Punting Randy into Cappi he still ran wide onto the (right side) Ripplestrip to get around the corner.

As for Mugello I agree with Pabs, Nakkers is Riding for a Finish, He's never on the bikes Limits spinning it up or backing it in.

The Bike is More Competitive then the Yamaha imho. Check out Edwards & the other Yamaha teams Qualifing Positions. Kwika is there but needs a Rider with Skill & HEART.

Gobert's at a loose end!!

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
04 JUNE 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO PICKS UP POINTS IN HARD FOUGHT MUGELLO RACE

Watched by almost 90,000 spectators, Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano brought his Ninja ZX-RR home in eleventh place in this afternoon's 23-lap Italian Grand Prix, after being outpaced by his factory rivals along Mugello's ultra-fast main straight.

The Kawasaki rider, who was penalised for a jump start two weeks ago in Le Mans, has been practicing his starts all weekend, for which he was rewarded today with a lightning launch from the second row of the grid that saw him slot into third place at the first turn.

But Nakano was unable to find an answer to the pace of his factory rivals, as they pulled out of his slipstream on the main straight to demote the Kawasaki rider back to sixth position, and into the clutches of the second group of riders.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider pushed as hard as he could to hold off his pursuers, but again lost places as they passed out of the slipstream along Mugello's 1100 metre front straight.

Nakano held onto tenth position for the majority of the race, but missed out on a top ten finish on the final lap, as John Hopkins slipstreamed past him to demote the Kawasaki rider to eleventh position at the line.

Randy de Puniet knew that starting from the sixth row of the grid would make today's race a difficult one, but the 25-year-old Frenchman made things even harder for himself by making an uncharacteristically bad start from sixteenth position.

After a hard first lap the Kawasaki pilot managed to fight his way back up the field to twelfth place, but then started to suffer pain in his lower back; a legacy of the first corner crash that brought his home Grand Prix in Le Mans to a premature conclusion two weeks ago.

De Puniet pushed on regardless, but was unable to counter a move from Colin Edwards in the final stages of the race and was forced to settle for thirteenth place at the chequered flag.

The Kawasaki Racing Team will stay on at Mugello, where Nakano, de Puniet and test and development rider, Olivier Jacque, will complete a one-day development test on Monday.

Shinya Nakano: 11th
"I've been practicing my starts this weekend, and it seems to have done the trick; today I got my best start of the season to jump from fifth to third place by the first corner. But that's where the problems started. I just couldn't stay with the leading group, they simply drove past me on the straight and they were gone. The same was true with the second group; I could run with them through the corners, but they'd just disappear when we reached the straight. I had no problems with the bike today, the tyres worked well throughout the race and I was pushing as hard as possible. But we still ended up outside the top ten, after John Hopkins passed me on the very last lap. I knew he was coming, but there is little you can do to defend your position when it's so easy to pass our bike on the straight. We know we need to find more top-end power, and we know we need to improve the driveability of the Ninja ZX-RR, and I think this can be seen quite clearly from today's result."

Randy de Puniet: 13th
"That was a very difficult race, mainly because I started so far back on the grid and then made things worse by getting a bad start; I think I might have been close to last going into the first turn. I got my head down and managed to pass a few riders to move up to twelfth position, but then I started to get a lot of pain in my back, which I injured in the crash at Le Mans, and that made it difficult to do a good lap time. When Edwards came past me at the end I tried to stay with him, but it was impossible. But, although I would obviously have preferred to finish higher in the race, it wasn't such a bad result given our qualifying position. I've got one more race finish under my belt and I learnt a lot this afternoon as a result of having to fight through the field. Without the handicap of a bad start from the sixth row, and the problems with my back, I think there was potential to be up there fighting with the group that Shinya was in today. The bike worked well this afternoon, my crew did a great job and I just hope we can go to Catalunya in two weeks and come away with a good result."

Harald Eckl: Team Principal
"This weekend we have a number of key people from KHI in Japan visiting the team, and I think that they will leave here with a better understanding of where our development efforts need to be focussed after today's race. Improvements in the driveability of the Ninja ZX-RR are important, but as Shinya showed today, we also need more top speed if we are not to concede positions on the straights at fast circuits like Mugello and Catalunya. Both riders rode a good race today, but the end result doesn't really do their efforts justice."

Why do they keep referring to "his factory rivals" like the Kawasaki team isn't a factory team?

Mick C wrote:Why do they keep referring to "his factory rivals" like the Kawasaki team isn't a factory team?

Because they are rival factories.