Kawasaki GP - Spain testing

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005
KAWASAKI PRE-SEASON TEST - JEREZ, SPAIN
23 FEBRUARY 2005 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RAIN IN SPAIN AS KAWASAKI TEST AT JEREZ

Following on from successful tests in Malaysia earlier in the year, the
Kawasaki Racing Team arrived at a cold and cloudy Jerez circuit today
to start the European phase of their preparations for the 2005 MotoGP
season.

With the continued development of the Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine a
priority in the run up to the new season, Kawasaki's regular MotoGP pilots,
Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, were joined at Jerez today by Japanese
test rider Kazuki Shimizu.

Cold track temperatures delayed the start of testing, and the onset of
rain at noon forced a long break in the test schedule, but both Hofmann
and Shimizu managed to work their way through a shortened test
programme despite the conditions.

While Hofmann evaluated a number of new components aboard his Ninja
ZX-RR, Shimizu worked closely with Kawasaki engineers from Japan and
Europe to develop further the 'big bang' engine that Nakano debuted during
early season testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Nakano's test programme, also centred around the big bang engine, was
brought to a premature end when the 27-year-old Japanese rider suffered
a minor injury after colliding with the fuel tank of his Ninja ZX-RR
under heavy braking.

Nakano underwent a precautionary examination by doctors at Jerez
hospital, where he received stitches in a small cut to his inner thigh, but
returned to the circuit later in the afternoon. The Kawasaki rider will
make a decision in the morning about riding in tomorrow's second day of
testing at Jerez.

Alex Hofmann: #66
"Track conditions haven't been ideal today. Even before the rain
arrived the track was slippery and quite dirty because of the building work
going on around the circuit. The track started to dry out in the
afternoon, but there are always spots on this circuit that seep water long
after the rain has gone, which means the track was never completely dry.
We only managed to test a few things on the bike this afternoon, but at
least we got a feel for the circuit ready for a full day of testing
tomorrow."

Shinya Nakano: #56
"I didn't get in one fast lap today. We started testing late because of
the low track temperatures and then I managed to pick up an injury just
as the rain arrived. I've had stitches in a small cut, which is quite
painful whenever I move, so I'll wait until tomorrow morning before
making a decision about riding during the second day of the test."

Kazuki Shimizu: Test Rider
"This is my first time in Europe, so part of today was spent learning
the circuit as well as continuing the test and development work on the
latest ZX-RR engine that we started in Malaysia. Hopefully the track
conditions and the weather will improve tomorrow and we'll be able to put
in a full day of testing."

[aardvark]

Kazuki Shimizu: Test Rider

Give this man the main job! His first name (if you assume that it's Ka-zar-ke and not Ka-zoo-ke) even sounds like Kawasaki if you say it fast enough....

[MickLC]

Nakano's test programme, also centred around the big bang engine, was
brought to a premature end when the 27-year-old Japanese rider suffered
a minor injury after colliding with the fuel tank of his Ninja ZX-RR
under heavy braking.

poor guy

[Barrabob]

I thought they would know all about the tank destroying manhhod problems by now.

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005
KAWASAKI PRE-SEASON TEST - JEREZ, SPAIN
24 FEBRUARY 2005 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHASSIS CHANGES LEAD TO IMPROVEMENT FOR HOFMANN

Better weather greeted the Kawasaki Racing Team as they arrived at
Jerez this morning, to start the second day of a planned three-day test at
the venue for the opening Grand Prix of the 2005 season.

Alex Hofmann made the most of the improved weather conditions to
complete 81 laps of the Jerez circuit, during a test schedule focussed on
evaluating revised chassis components on his screamer-engined Ninja ZX-RR.

Despite cold track temperatures and reduced grip, due to dirt on the
back part of the circuit, the 24-year-old German rider saw an improvement
in his lap time, which he attributed to more traction from the rear and
better acceleration out of the turns.

Shinya Nakano returned to the circuit aboard his Ninja ZX-RR today,
after sitting out most of yesterday's test as a result of a minor, but
painful, injury sustained during his first on track session.

The 27-year-old Japanese rider completed 57 laps of the Jerez circuit,
as he worked with engineers from Japan and Europe to improve throttle
response on the big bang version of Kawasaki's 990cc, inline
four-cylinder Ninja ZX-RR motor.

Kawasaki test rider, Kazuki Shimizu, was again on hand today to assist
Nakano with development work on the new ZX-RR engine.

The Kawasaki Racing Team will complete their three-day test schedule at
the Jerez circuit tomorrow.

Alex Hofmann: 81 laps (1'42.4)
"Today we tested the modifications made to the chassis after the Sepang
test at the beginning of the year. Track conditions weren't really
ideal for testing today but, overall, the results have been positive. I
managed to improve my lap time and the bike definitely feels better
accelerating out of the turns; it just seems to hook up better when you get
hard on the gas. We'll continue the evaluation tomorrow."

Shinya Nakano: 57 laps (1'42.69)
"The focus today was again on the big bang engine. We know from the
Sepang test that this engine has a number of advantages over the old one,
but there is still a lot of set-up work to do if we are to realise it's
full potential. This is what we concentrated on today. At the moment we
are working to improve throttle response, because the throttle still
feels a little disconnected from the engine when you get on the gas, but
we also need to collect the data necessary to further the development
of the big bang Ninja ZX-RR. We will run the same engine again tomorrow,
but with slightly different settings."

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005
KAWASAKI PRE-SEASON TEST - JEREZ, SPAIN
25 FEBRUARY 2005 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO IMPROVES LAP TIME AS HOFMANN TESTS BIG BANG

Alex Hofmann got the opportunity to test the big bang version of
Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine for the first time during the third and
final day of testing at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain.

Hofmann started today's test schedule with the screamer engine he has
used in his Ninja ZX-RR for the past two days, but after running
confirmation tests on development chassis components and settings during the
morning, he switched over to the big bang motor for the afternoon
session.

After familiarising himself with the characteristics of the new engine,
the 24-year-old German rider concentrated on refining basic set-up, and
working with Kawasaki engineers on fuel injection mapping.

After stepping off the bike at the conclusion of the test, Hofmann
commented that he could feel the potential the revised firing order
offered, but felt that there was still a lot of work to do before the full
potential could be realised.

Running a big bang engine with a slightly different specification to
that of his team-mate, Shinya Nakano completed the test and development
programme started on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Japanese rider completed
59 laps during a full day of testing, and was rewarded with a lap time
that was one second faster than his previous best.

Nakano will continue the development of the big bang 2005 Ninja ZX-RR
at the Valencia circuit during a two-day test on 7/8 March and a one-day
test on 16 March, before being rejoined on track by Alex Hofmann for
the annual IRTA tests at Catalunya and Jerez.

Alex Hofmann: 54 laps (1'42.
"This morning I retested some of the components and settings from
yesterday, just to confirm our findings. Then it was onto the big bang bike
for the first time. Today was all about getting a first impression of
the new engine, and you can feel that there is definitely potential
there, but it's still in the early development stages and it won't be until
we arrive at a better base set-up that we'll be able to judge exactly
how much potential this engine has. Hopefully Shinya will be able to
take things to the next step at the next test. Overall I'm pretty happy
with how things have gone over the past three days. We've tested a lot of
new components and settings during an intensive test schedule, and I
leave here having achieved a reasonable lap time for the conditions."

Shinya Nakano: 59 laps (1'41.7)
"We continued to work on the new engine today. Finding the right set-up
for such a new engine is not so easy, but this afternoon we found some
good settings and that allowed me to improve my lap time. I also tested
a new swinging arm on the bike this afternoon, and the results were
also positive. It felt like it improved traction out of the corner,
especially when hard on the gas. Overall I'm happy with the progress we've
made. It's been a busy test, and there's still a lot of development work
needed before the start of the season. But we leave here having found a
good base set-up with the new bike, ready for the next round of testing
at Valencia, which is just ten days away."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"We've seen a small step forward with the big bang bike during this
test, which shows that development is heading in the right direction, but
we are well aware that time is not on our side. The first race of the
season is lgetting ever closer and we know we have a lot of hard work to
do between now and then if we are going to realise the full potential
of the latest Ninja ZX-RR. Shinya is definitely earning his salary this
year, and I know that everyone in the team appreciates the effort he's
putting into developing this new engine. And Alex has worked hard to
evaluate changes designed to improve the chassis. Overall this has been a
positive test for the team."