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MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
05 APRIL 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KAWASAKI FACE TOUGH TEST IN QATAR HEAT

After the thrills and spills of the opening race in Jerez, the Kawasaki Racing Team arrive in the blistering heat of the Middle East this week for the first of three consecutive overseas races, starting with the Grand Prix of Qatar on Saturday 8th April.

Last years race at the Losail International circuit saw temperatures rise to over 40 degrees on race day. This year the MotoGP riders won't face the same extremes of heat, as the date of the race has been moved from October to April, when temperatures are predicted to be ten degrees cooler.

Shinya Nakano arrives in Qatar determined to build upon his strong seventh place finish in the season opener at Jerez two weeks ago. The 28-year-old Kawasaki rider finished seventh in the Grand Prix of Qatar last season, but is confident that the combination of the new Ninja ZX-RR and the cooler track conditions mean a top five finish is a realistic target this time around.

Nakano will make good use this weekend of data collected by Kawasaki's test and development rider, Olivier Jacque, who has already completed two development tests at the Losail International circuit this year.

Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, arrives in Qatar aiming to finish in Saturday's 22-lap race, after being forced to retire from the opening race of the season due to an injury sustained when he highsided his Ninja ZX-RR during morning warm up at Jerez. Despite treatment to the injury at home in France, de Puniet has not yet recovered full strength in his hand, but is confident that it will not prove a handicap this weekend.

The 25-year-old Frenchman has shown promising form during pre-season testing, and with his eighth place qualifying position for the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, but de Puniet knows that these performances count for nothing if they are not converted into results come race day.

The 5.38 km Losail circuit presents some unique problems for the MotoGP riders during free practice, when sand blown across the track from the surrounding desert makes grip unpredictable. As practice continues, and more rubber is laid on the circuit, lap times invariably improve, but the slightest wind can quickly cover the track with a new layer of sand, catching riders unaware.

With its many twists and turns the Losail circuit demands a well-balanced bike that is capable of quick changes of direction. Based on feedback from Nakano and de Puniet during pre-season testing, the all-new Ninja ZX-RR should suit very well the characteristics of the Losail circuit.

Shinya Nakano:
"Because we are racing here earlier than last year, the conditions are definitely a little bit cooler, and that should benefit everyone. I like this track and we arrive in Qatar well prepared for the weekend. We have the data from Olivier Jacque's two tests here earlier in the year, and we have already tested potential race tyres for this circuit during our post race test in Jerez. Tyres are critical here, and I think our Bridgestone tyres may offer something of an advantage this weekend. This is also a good circuit for our Ninja ZX-RR, as you need a bike that handles well. For sure the straight is long, but we've had good speed here in the past, so I don't think it will be an issue. I feel confident that we can end up with a strong finish in Saturday's race."

Randy de Puniet:
"For me, the most important thing this weekend is to finish the race. I like this track; it's very technical and I think that this suits the characteristics of the Ninja ZX-RR. I'm looking forward to the weekend ahead, and I hope that we can carry on the momentum we had before my crash during morning warm-up at Jerez. While the hand I injured in the crash has not recovered completely, it is a lot better now. I guess I won't know how much better until I get on the bike tomorrow, but I'm confident it won't cause me any problems this weekend."

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
06 APRIL 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A DIFFICULT OPENING DAY FOR KAWASAKI IN QATAR

Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet, remain upbeat and confident after a difficult opening day at the Losail International circuit in Qatar.

Nakano finished today's free practice in 13th place overall, after struggling to find a good rhythm on his Ninja ZX-RR around the long, and technically demanding, Losail circuit.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider spent much of today working with his crew to refine the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR, critical on a circuit that demands a well-balanced bike that changes direction easily. Despite making improvements to both his set-up and his lap time towards the end of the afternoon session, Nakano was unable to find a comfortable feeling with the bike, after losing the front and rear repeatedly at certain sections of the 5.380 km Qatar circuit.

Nakano is confident that only minor changes are required overnight to transform the handling of his Ninja ZX-RR ready for tomorrow, when he will also work his way through the many tyre options that Bridgestone have brought to Qatar, in order to identify a suitable tyre for Saturday's 22-lap race.

Randy de Puniet also had a difficult opening day at Qatar, as he struggled with the hand injury he sustained after highsiding himself out of the morning warm-up session for the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.

The 25-year-old Frenchman could only manage ten laps during first free practice this morning, but was much improved for the afternoon session after receiving treatment and painkilling injections in the circuit medical centre beforehand.

De Puniet will continue to receive treatment for the injury ahead of tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions, in which he remains confident of improving significantly on his 18th position from today.

Shinya Nakano: 13th
"Today I just couldn't find a good rhythm on the bike. We are a little way off on set-up at the moment, not far off, but far enough to cause me some problems on the track. I lost grip at the front and the back during both practices today, which means I wasn't able to push as hard as I would have liked. I think we only need to make small changes to the bike to see a big difference, and once I'm able to push, I'm confident I can improve on my lap time considerably. At this track tyres are critical, and tomorrow we must focus on working our way through the tyre options that Bridgestone have available for us here."

Randy de Puniet: 18th
"Yesterday my hand felt okay, but this morning when I woke up it was painful even to unscrew the top from a bottle of water. Maybe I slept with the hand in a bad position; I don't know. This morning on the bike I had a lot of pain - on the back of my hand when braking, and closer to my wrist when accelerating - and it was unsafe to carry on. Between the sessions I received treatment at the medical centre, along with some painkilling shots, and the hand was a lot better in the afternoon. During the second session I concentrated not on fast times, but on being as smooth as possible. I am confident that, if my hand injury continues to improve tomorrow, then my lap times will do the same."

Harald Eckl: Team Principal
"Today was a difficult one for both riders. Once Shinya finds a set-up and a tyre he is happy with then I am confident that we will see him move steadily up the time sheet tomorrow. Randy is in some pain with his injured hand, but we saw an improvement this afternoon and, hopefully, after treatment and rest this evening, the injury will be less of a handicap for him tomorrow. We must work hard now to find a solution for this track, but I have every confidence that the team can do this."



FREE PRACTICE - COMBINED TIMES
1. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts 1'56.905; 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.006; 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.105; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.119; 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.126; 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.236; 7. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.455; 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.487; 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.547; 10. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.664; 13. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.881; 18. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +3.311

Stoner in 2nd... behind Kenny Jnr

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
07 APRIL 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO OVERCOMES CHATTER TO QUALIFY NINTH

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano bounced back after a difficult two days at the Losail International circuit, snatching ninth place on the grid for tomorrow's 22-lap Grand Prix of Qatar during the final seconds of this afternoon's qualifying session.

Nakano has struggled all weekend to find a confidence-inspiring set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR. After a disappointing opening day, The Kawasaki ace was confident that small changes to set-up would reap big benefits in terms of lap times, but despite the best efforts of his crew, the chatter problems that hampered the 28-year-old Japanese rider yesterday were still in evidence during practice and qualifying today.

Nakano battled on throughout this afternoon's hour long timed session, but was still lying in a lowly 14th position with just ten minutes remaining. A change to a rear qualifying tyre reduced the effect of the chatter enough to allow Nakano to push for a fast lap right at the end of the session, to move up five places and secure a third row start for tomorrow's race.

Despite the improvement, Nakano is under no illusions about how tough tomorrow's race will be if his crew cannot find a solution to the problems overnight.

While not happy to only qualify 15th for tomorrow's race, Randy de Puniet was more than a little relieved to have made it to the start line at all, after problems with the hand he injured at Jerez almost forced the Frenchman to withdraw from the Grand Prix of Qatar following yesterday's opening practice session.

But after responding well to treatment in the circuit medical centre, the 25-year-old Frenchman has seen an improvement in his hand with every track session today.

After bettering his lap time on race tyres during qualifying, de Puniet was forced to settle for 15th position, and the fifth row of the grid, after suffering an off-track excursion on his final flying lap on a qualifier while avoiding pole sitter Casey Stoner, as the Australian toured back to the pits after his own qualifying lap.

Shinya Nakano: 9th (1'56.237)
"I'm never happy to qualify as far back as ninth, but if I'm honest, it is better than I was expecting today, after the problems we've had here. Since yesterday we've been struggling with chatter from the front and rear of the bike, and although we've managed to make a small improvement through changes to the bike set-up, it's still a major problem. The chatter was less on the qualifier, which allowed me to at least salvage a reasonable starting position this afternoon, but we can't race on a qualifier unfortunately. I'm hoping that we can sit down tonight and come up with a solution to try in warm-up tomorrow, because it's going to be a very difficult race for me otherwise. I guess we will see tomorrow, but I'll be out to collect as many points as I can regardless."

Randy de Puniet: 15th (1'57.822)
"Thankfully, my hand is much better today. I've been able to steadily improve my lap time on race tyres and I'm sure I could have qualified higher today but for going off the track after running wide to avoid Casey round the back of the circuit. So, while I'm not so pleased to be starting 15th on the grid, I am happy that I'll actually be on the grid tomorrow after the problems that I had with my hand on Thursday. Tomorrow my aim is to finish my first MotoGP race, preferably in the points. If I can do that then it will be a good end to the weekend for me and for the team."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE - FINAL TIMES
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda 1'55.683; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.038; 3. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.052; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.110; 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.325; 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.393; 7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.494; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.547; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.554; 10. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.589; 15. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.139

Nice one Casey

Also respect to Rossi (as in capi) and also a good showing from Elias

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
08 APRIL 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO SCORES POINTS IN HARD FOUGHT QATAR RACE

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano rode a determined race at the Losail International circuit today, overcoming the traction problems that have plagued him all weekend to take a hard fought eleventh place in the Grand Prix of Qatar.

A fast start from ninth place on the grid saw Nakano lying fourth into the first corner, but the Kawasaki rider was quickly swallowed up by the chasing pack as he struggled to get his Ninja ZX-RR to hook up out of the turns.

By the halfway point Nakano looked set to secure a top ten finish, but was unable to hold off a determined attack by Kenny Roberts, who drafted past the Kawasaki rider on the short straight at the back of the circuit.

Nakano immediately fought back, but was unable to close the gap sufficiently to mount a challenge on Roberts to retake tenth place.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider tried one last charge towards the end of the race, but was eventually forced to settle for eleventh place, and five championship points, at the chequered flag.

Randy de Puniet's run of bad luck continued today, with the Kawasaki rider again failing to notch up his first MotoGP race finish, after crashing out of the Grand Prix of Qatar on the opening lap.

The MotoGP rookie was forced to retire through injury from the opening race of the season in Jerez two weeks ago, but arrived in Qatar determined to make amends with a points scoring finish in today's race.

But, after a lightning fast start, that saw him make up three places in the run to the first corner, the 25-year-old Frenchman race ended prematurely when he lost the rear of his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR on the entry to the relatively slow, left-hand turn six.

Although small consolation after such a bitter disappointment, de Puniet was uninjured in the crash, and will be fighting fit for the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul on 30th April.

Shinya Nakano: 11th
"We just ran out of time to fix the problems that we have been experiencing all weekend, so all I could do this afternoon was go as hard as possible and try and salvage some championship points. Our main problem seems to be a lack of traction out of the turns, mainly because the power delivery off the bottom is just too aggressive and this is causing the rear tyre to break contact and spin up. So, it was difficult to accelerate hard out of the turns, which reduced my speed along the straights. Even on the short straight between turns three and four, people were just riding past me on the throttle, while I was struggling to get the bike to hook up through the gears. It must be something about this circuit, because the bike has worked well throughout winter testing and at the first race in Jerez. After a difficult weekend I'm just happy we ended today with a points scoring finish."

Randy de Puniet: DNF
"I got a good start and I felt comfortable on the bike, but after overtaking Alex Hofmann going into the slow left hander the rear just came round on me. I don't know why yet; hopefully the telemetry will tell us something when we get the bike back to the pit box. This is the worst possible end to a difficult weekend for me. My hand injury was a problem on Thursday, but this improved throughout the weekend and I was looking for a good result today. Obviously I am disappointed to have crashed out on the first lap, but the only thing I can do is look at why it happened, learn from it, and then put it behind me so that I can concentrate on preparing for the next race in Istanbul."

Harald Eckl: Team Principal
"It is a bitter disappointment to finish outside the top ten as a factory MotoGP team. Our main aim now needs to be to go away from here and work hard to improve power delivery, driveability and top speed, so we can come back stronger for the next race in Istanbul."

MOTOGP RACE RESULT
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 43'22.229; 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.900; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.494; 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +4.638; 5. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +7.575; 6. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +10.820; 7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +11.784; 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +19.481; 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +22.920; 10. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +34.286; 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +35.316; 12. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha +49.245; DNF. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +21 Laps

not a great result for Team Green
Thank God for Casey Stoner's great effort in his second MotoGp race
Oh and Hopkin's for showing me what Suzuki's are good for !! hahahahahahahaha I dont think kick starting like that will start it !

Hopkins did a number on the Rizzla Logo I loved the way he tossed himself onto the ground, jumped back up & put the boot into the scoot for a second time. hahahahaaaaaaaaa.

He was actually moving forward when it "Shit itself", he was up to about 6th and closing on the next bike & pffffffft smoke screen. Then CV's had a heart attack later as well.

Pontikat wrote:Hopkins did a number on the Rizzla Logo I loved the way he tossed himself onto the ground, jumped back up & put the boot into the scoot for a second time. hahahahaaaaaaaaa.

.

It was a pisser !!!! hahahahaha I wonder if someone's got it floating on the net on mpeg or something as it would make for a good laugh F@#k he must have been mad

mfzx6r wrote:

Pontikat wrote:Hopkins did a number on the Rizzla Logo I loved the way he tossed himself onto the ground, jumped back up & put the boot into the scoot for a second time. hahahahaaaaaaaaa.

.

It was a pisser !!!! hahahahaha I wonder if someone's got it floating on the net on mpeg or something as it would make for a good laugh F@#k he must have been mad

Yeah that was the highlight of the race for me! It amazes me how suzuki build a race/championship winning superbike(mladin/corser) but a shithouse gp bike.

Yeah i suppose we should consider it lucky that our bikes are not blowing up like the Suzukis are!!!!

greenmeanie wrote:

mfzx6r wrote:

Pontikat wrote:Hopkins did a number on the Rizzla Logo I loved the way he tossed himself onto the ground, jumped back up & put the boot into the scoot for a second time. hahahahaaaaaaaaa.

.

It was a pisser !!!! hahahahaha I wonder if someone's got it floating on the net on mpeg or something as it would make for a good laugh F@#k he must have been mad

Yeah that was the highlight of the race for me! It amazes me how suzuki build a race/championship winning superbike(mladin/corser) but a shithouse gp bike.

thats the point i make to my gsxr riding mates..."ur road bike comes from a tradition of blow-ups..hows that make u feel"??

confident??..nah..i dont think ill buy a spooey