Kawasaki Press releases - Phillip Island- late.:-)

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
CINZANO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - PHILLIP ISLAND
16TH OCTOBER 2004 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

ALEX HOFMANN IN SUPERB FORM AT PHILLIP ISLAND

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Alex Hofmann will start from eighth place in
tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix, his best ever qualifying position in
MotoGP.

The 24-year-old German rider made good his promise after yesterday's
first qualifying, when he felt his Bridgestone-shod Ninja ZX-RR was
capable of a top ten starting position. Hofmann moved forward from 13th on
the overnight provisional grid.

This will be Hofmann's first third row MotoGP start and it comes at one
of his favourite circuits, the high-speed 4.4 km Phillip Island layout
which typically rewards skill and bravery.

And Hofmann's courage was tested when he just managed to save a
massive, 280kph rear wheel slide through the downhill turn three midway
through the session.

Japan's Shinya Nakano just missed joining his Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate
in the top ten and will start from 11th position, less than 0.2s behind
Hofmann.

The top 12 riders in qualifying were covered by just one second, with
Hofmann just three tenths of second off the front row.

However Hofmann had to work hard for eighth place. At its current stage
of development the Ninja ZX-RR concedes about 15 kph in top speed to
the front-running bikes, thus leaving Hofmann to make up time in the many
fast, sweeping turns.

With a perfectly timed slipstream tow on the main straight Hofmann
moved into fourth place with two minutes remaining, before being bumped to
eighth as the session closed.

Meanwhile, Nakano's bid for a top ten position was thwarted when
Spanish rider Carlos Checa crashed in front of him on his final flying lap.
The incident occurred through the fast turn eight on the back section of
the track, forcing Nakano to back-off and abort the lap.

Nakano had not been happy with rear end traction in the morning
practice session, but rear shock and spring adjustments cured the problem.

Hofmann made just minor adjustments today to fine tune chassis balance,
and both riders say they have comfortable set-ups for tomorrow's
27-lap, penultimate round of the 2004 MotoGP championship.

Final qualifying was conducted in cooler and calmer conditions than
first qualifying, with overcast skies and reduced wind strength.

Alex Hofmann: 8th (1'30.819)
"I did it! I knew this time was possible here after yesterday. I have
very good balance with the ZX-RR race set-up and was able to carry that
into my fast laps on qualifying tyres. Our top end engine power is not
enough at the moment, so I followed Sete Gibernau to keep my speed up
on the straight and it worked. The wind was constant, but not as strong
as yesterday. My biggest problem was a really scary rear-end slide
through turn three, that was very fast and got my attention in a big way. I
concentrated on improving my riding today and understanding the race
set-up. We just need to confirm our rear tyre choice for the race in the
warm-up tomorrow.

Shinya Nakano: 11th (1'31.093)
"I had a much better feeling his afternoon and I now have a very good
balance, both front and rear, for the race. The morning practice was
very difficult for me because I couldn't find enough rear traction. When
Checa crashed in front of me on my final flying lap this afternoon I had
to close the throttle, so 11th place is okay under the circumstances,
although a little disappointing. For sure I have to make a good start
and, hopefully, the wind speed will stay low, which will make conditions
better for the race."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"At this track I didn't expect such a big difference in top speed
between the Ninja ZX-RR and the other bikes at the front; it's between 15 to
20kph and clearly we are suffering with a lack of top end power. On the
other hand our riders and their crews worked hard to improve rear end
grip and balance, which is critical here through all the long and fast
corners. I'm certain Shinya could have been in the top ten, but he was
slowed when Checa crashed. Eighth position is the best start for Alex in
MotoGP and shows the upward trend of his form at recent races. I just
hope both Alex and Shinya can make good starts and stay with the lead
group in tomorrow's race."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 - COMBINED TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 1'30.122; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.100; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA)
Ducati Marlboro Team +0.491; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar
Honda +0.503; 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +0.594; 6. Alex
Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +0.635; 7. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team
+0.645; 8. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.697; 9. Troy
Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.751; 10. Marco Melandri (ITA)
Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.805; 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team
+0.971; 12. Ruben Xaus (SPA) dAntin Ducati Team +1.069; 13. Carlos Checa
(SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +1.237

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
CINZANO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - PHILLIP ISLAND
16TH OCTOBER 2004 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A FAST LAP OF PHILLIP ISLAND WITH ALEX HOFMANN

Fuchs Kawasaki's Alex Hofmann rates the Phillip Island circuit as one
of his all time favourites so, after his best ever qualifying
performance of the season ahead of tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix, we asked the
24-year-old German rider to give us a guided tour of the 4.4km seaside
track - at race speed of course!

"Depending on the wind direction you're approaching 330kph as you head
down towards turn one, but even if the wind is with you it feels like
it's trying to blow you off the side of the track, so it's a good idea
to always leave yourself a little bit of space on the left just in case
you get hit by a gust; grass tracking at over 300 kph is definitely not
my idea of fun!

"As you approach turn one you just touch the front brake and back shift
one gear before tipping it into the right hander at Doohan Corner. It's
probably the fastest turn on any circuit we race on and right in the
middle, just as you're at maximum lean, there are a few bumps that you
have to watch out for. It's a strange feeling having the bike go light
under you over the bumps when your knee is on the deck at around 200kph!

"But then you're on the gas again as it's important that you get a good
run up to the left hand turn two. Corner speed is important through
this long, 180 degree turn. You come right back on yourself and it's
difficult to gauge exactly how early you can get on the gas at the exit.
Almost every lap you exit this corner with the feeling that you could have
got on the gas earlier than you did.

"Once out of the turn it's up through the gears and over the small hill
towards what i think is the scariest corner on the track; the
ultra-fast turn three. You're travelling at over 200kph with the rear of the
bike sliding the whole way round the turn, which is a weird feeling.
Although the backend is sliding, there's not much chance of high-siding here
- which is a good thing really, because if you went over the top of the
bike here you'd most likely land in Tasmania!

"The next turn is the Honda Hairpin so, as soon as you exit turn three,
you're hard on the brakes trying to get the bike stopped as you
backshift through the box to first gear. You have to watch out at this corner,
as the right hand side of the tyre will have cooled slightly through
the long left-handers, making a high-side on the exit of the turn a real
possibility if you're a bit too heavy with your throttle hand.

"Out of Honda Hairpin you shift up to second, riding the rev limiter as
you approach one of the most fantastic corners in the world; Siberia.
The positive camber around this turn means you can ride it like a
motocross berm, carrying a huge amount of speed through the corner. You're
accelerating all the time, up through the gears into fourth, and the rear
feels like it just wants to keep on spinning all the way around
Siberia, through turn seven and all the way to the right-hander at turn eight.

"Turn eight is another very fast corner, and you need to try and carry
as much speed through here as possible for the climb up to Lukey
Heights.

"Lukey Heights is a bit scary the first couple of times you ride it,
because you can't see your exit point as you commit to the corner. You
know which way the track goes, but it's not until you hit the crest of
the hill that you can actually see it, and the bike has already started
to slide by then. All your senses are working overtime as you try to
look over the top of the hill to confirm that you're heading for the right
part of the track on the other side. It's a lot of fun when you get it
right, but I wouldn't ever want to get it wrong!

"As soon as you're over Lukey Heights you have to set yourself up for
the tight hairpin at the bottom of the hill. It's difficult to judge
your braking point here, because there are no real reference points; you
have to do it by feel rather than by using a marker. And it's hard
braking as well, trying to scrub off speed on a downhill slope before
tipping into turn ten, one of the slowest corners on the track. The positive
camber at this right-hander means you can carry speed through the turn
but, just like at the Honda Hairpin, you need to be aware that the
right hand side of the tyre will have cooled slightly and the available
grip might not be quite as much as you expected.

"It's important that your exit from turn ten gives you a good entry
speed into the last two corners on the circuit. You go tight into the apex
on turn eleven, before accelerating as hard as the rear grip will let
you through the final turn and back onto the start finish straight. The
rear of the bike really wants to spin up all the way through the last
two left-handers, but while it's good fun to do this - and good for the
crowd watching - it's not the fastest way through these two corners.

"You're accelerating hard out of the final turn, trying to carry as
much speed as possible onto the start finish straight, but the corner is
partially blind. It's not until you hit fifth gear that the kerbing on
the outside of the start finish straight comes into view and lets you
know you're definitely on the right line.

"And then it's up into top gear and head down behind the bubble for the
run back down to Doohan Corner, keeping a wary eye out for Phillip
Island's infamous kamikaze sea gulls as you go."

One lap down, only another 20 to go!

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP 2004
ROUND 15 - PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA
17 OCTOBER 2004 - MOTOGP RACE
BOTH FUCHS KAWASAKI RIDERS IN THE POINTS
Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, both finished in the points in today's Australian Grand Prix, finishing 12th and 13th respectively in a hard fought race.

Nakano is now just three points out of a top ten finish in the MotoGP World Championship, his stated goal before the season started, and there is still one race remaining, the Valencia Grand Prix in two weeks time.

The race was run in sunny but cool conditions, with a track temperature of 30 degrees at the super-fast, 4.4 km Phillip Island circuit.

Despite his 12th place finish, Nakano recorded a race time that was 57 seconds faster than the best Ninja ZX-RR race time at Phillip Island a year ago.

This represents a dramatic step forward with Kawasaki's MotoGP project, which only just celebrating its second anniversary.

Both riders were a little disappointed not to have the opportunity to capitalise on their strong qualifying performances.

Hofmann did not make a good start from eighth on the third row, his best ever qualifying position in MotoGP, and was 11th at the end of lap one, just ahead of Nakano.

The Ninja ZX-RR pair then raced furiously in a tight group including Ruben Xaus and Carlos Checa.

But Nakano had difficulty pushing to his usual fast level due to a lack of rear traction.

After recovering from his poor start Hofmann raced hard, despite conceding some top speed to his rivals. He also raced with a slightly harder compound rear Bridgestone tyre than his Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate.

The penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship was watched by 42,500 fans.

Shinya Nakano: 12th
"It was a very hard race for me. Right from the start I found it difficult to push hard and force the pace. Even after I passed Alex it was not possible to ride as fast as I would have liked. Then there was a great battle with Xaus and Checa and I was hoping to have an opportunity to overtake them late in the race, but towards the end my lap times dropped away. I was suffering with a lack of traction around the left-handers, always a problem at this track with so many fast corners."

Alex Hofmann: 13th
"That was my toughest race this year. I made a poor start and lost places, but then I had good pace for four laps and was fighting in the group for the top ten. But I was losing 40 to 50 metres with speed on the straight each lap, and this was not helped by the wind. In the second half of the race I was having a problem with rear end traction, the chassis balance felt fine, but I raced a slightly harder tyre compound than Shinya."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"I expected better results here, but both riders did the best they could in the conditions today. The positive point is the performance increase over the race distance with the Ninja ZX-RR compared to this race last year -- 57 seconds faster, showing that we are heading in the right direction. But we are still short of engine performance, and that is a crucial part of our development program. We still have something to race for in Valencia, with Shinya fighting for a top ten place in the final standings."

MOTOGP RACE RESULT
POS RIDER CTY TEAM TIME/GAP

1. VALENTINO ROSSI ITA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
41'25.819
2. SETE GIBERNAU SPA TELEFONICA MOVISTAR HONDA
+0.097
3. LORIS CAPIROSSI ITA DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM
+10.486
4. COLIN EDWARDS USA TELEFONICA MOVISTAR HONDA
+10.817
5. ALEX BARROS BRA REPSOL HONDA
+10.851
6. NICKY HAYDEN USA REPSOL HONDA
+12.210
7. MAX BIAGGI ITA CAMEL HONDA TEAM
+12.847
8. MAKOTO TAMADA JPN CAMEL HONDA TEAM
+12.965
9. TROY BAYLISS AUS DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM
+18.607
10. CARLOS CHECA SPA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
+21.245
11. RUBEN XAUS SPA DANTIN DUCATI TEAM
+23.173
12. SHINYA NAKANO JPN KAWASAKI RACING TEAM
+25.718
13. ALEX HOFMANN GER KAWASAKI RACING TEAM
+35.137