Kawasaki Mugello - Press Release

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA - MUGELLO
3RD JUNE 2004 - EVENT PREVIEW

FUCHS KAWASAKI ENLIST THE HELP OF THE GREEN LADIES AT MUGELLO

Having recently returned from a successful promotional event at Imola, the Kawasaki Racing Team head back to Italy for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, confident of strong local support after enlisting the help of the Kawasaki Italy backed Green Ladies.

Located in the Tuscan hills, the Mugello circuit is one at which Shinya Nakano has won races in the past. The 26-year-old Japanese rider took the race win in the 250cc class at Mugello in 2000, backing that up last year with a front row start and a sixth place finish in the MotoGP class.

Coming from the disappointment of a retirement at Le Mans last time out, Nakano is determined to give the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team a good result this weekend, on a track he thoroughly enjoys racing at.

Mugello also ranks as one of Alex Hofmann's favourite circuits and, after a disappointing start to his rookie year in the MotoGP class, the 23-year-old German rider is hoping that this weekend's Italian Grand Prix will prove to be the turning point of the season for him.

Cheering on the Fuchs Kawasaki riders this weekend will be the Green Ladies; a group of five girls who, together with a number of helpers, are dedicated to raising the profile of motorcycling in their home country. While the main focus of the Green Ladies is on organising and running motorcycle tours and track schools for both men and women, the group also have a strong on track presence, with two of their number regularly racing in Italian Championship events.

The youngest of the Green Ladies racers is 27-year-old Roxy, who campaigns a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R in the Italian Female Championship, while 29-year-old Claudia, or Tiger as she is known in the paddock, is the only female rider in the hotly contested Italian Ninja Trophy series, which is backed by Fuchs Silkolene and fought out on near identical Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6RR machines.

All five Green Ladies will join the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team at Mugello, where they will be given the opportunity to meet Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann and to see behind the scenes in the Kawasaki pit box as the team prepare for the Italian Grand Prix.

Shinya Nakano: No.56
"I have some good memories of the Mugello circuit and I love racing here. I can't wait to get out on track tomorrow and find out how the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR works around this circuit. Not finishing the race at Le Mans was a disappointment for everyone in the team, but I'm confident that we won't have similar problems this weekend. I'm looking forward to the weekend ahead and, if I can put in a good qualifying performance on Friday and Saturday, then a top eight finish is a definite possibility come race day."

Alex Hofmann: No.66
"There's no denying that I need a good weekend, after what has been a difficult start to the season for me, and what better place to turn my season around than Mugello? This is definitely one of my favourite tracks; the circuit is fantastic to ride, the fans are some of the most enthusiastic in the world and the atmosphere is second to none. We will need to work hard on Friday and Saturday to find a good set up on the bike and to identify a suitable race tyre, but there's no reason why this race shouldn't prove to be a turning point for us."

[omen_child]

If the Kwakka's still have the straight line grunt they had last year, Nakano might put in a good showing at Mugello, with that massive main straight.

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA - MUGELLO
4TH JUNE 2004 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1

SOLID PERFORMANCE FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI AT MUGELLO

Fuchs Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann finished today's opening qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello twelfth and thirteenth fastest respectively, but both riders are confident of improving their grid positions during tomorrow afternoon's final timed session.

Nakano concentrated on refining the front suspension settings of his Ninja ZX-RR during today's practice and qualifying sessions. Although the likeable Japanese rider was able to make some improvements to both the set up of the bike and his lap times, he didn't feel comfortable enough with the front of the bike to push as hard as he'd have liked during this afternoon's timed session.

Alex Hofmann declared himself satisfied with the first qualifying session here at Mugello, after finishing just over a tenth of a second behind his more experienced teammate. Bad luck has dogged the 24-year-old German rider so far this year, but after today, Hofmann is convinced that Mugello will provide him with the opportunity he needs to kickstart his rookie season in the MotoGP class.

Shinya Nakano: 12th (1'51.827)
"It was difficult for me this afternoon because I didn't really have the confidence in the front of the bike that is necessary to attack the ultra-fast corners here at Mugello. This is an area we will continue to work on tomorrow and I'm confident that, come final qualifying, we'll have a package I'm happy with. On a positive note, we think we've identified a tyre for Sunday's race and we'll do an endurance test on this tomorrow to ensure it is good for full race distance."

Alex Hofmann: 13th (1'52.019)
"We made a big improvement to the bike between the morning and afternoon sessions today, which allowed me to close right up to Shinya's time towards the end of qualifying, so I'm happy about that. I just can't believe the times that were being posted by everyone today; everyone was so fast for the first day here and the level is incredible. Tomorrow we will continue working to refine the set up of the bike to suit the characteristics of the Mugello circuit, but overall I am confident about the weekend ahead."

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA - MUGELLO
5TH JUNE 2004 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

NAKANO SECURES TOP TEN START FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano sliced one second from his previous best lap time in final qualifying to claim a top ten starting spot for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.

The Japanese ace will start tenth on the grid, just three places ahead of German teammate Alex Hofmann, who qualified thirteenth with a confidence boosting performance.

Hofmann’s first full time MotoGP season has so far been one of misfortune but he is hoping that the 23-lap race at a sun-drenched Mugello will be a turning point for him.

Both Nakano and Hofmann claimed a surge in confidence with set-up changes to their Ninja ZX-RR machines that enabled them to dramatically reduce their lap times from Friday’s first qualifying session.

Nakano went one second faster today after eliminating front end chatter, enabling him to push much harder through Mugello's long, sweeping curves.

In Hofmann’s case the improvement was 0.7s after adjustments to both front and rear geometry produced better balance at the super-fast Mugello circuit.

The one hour session was red-flagged with just under nine minutes remaining to enable repairs to the safety air fence after Kurtis Roberts crashed his Proton with the machine bursting into flames.

Shinya Nakano: 10th (1'50.807)
"This is a good time for us at this track and today I was feeling much more confident, both in the bike and myself. The front end chatter was much reduced in qualifying and that enabled me to concentrate on race set-up and tyre selection; there is very little difference between my best times on race tyres and soft qualifying rubber. I feel we have a very good race set-up and the only thing left to do is a final tyre run in Sunday morning warm-up."

Alex Hofmann: 13th (1'51.303)
"Overall we made a good step forward with the bike and I am now feeling more comfortable and confident; we played with the geometry and suspension to get a good feeling. The bike feels good everywhere although, like everyone, you are always looking for more lean angle and grip through the fast corners here. My time would have easily been fast enough for pole position a year ago and the grid for this race just goes to show the amazing progress that is being made in MotoGP performance. I’m looking to score a good bunch of points in the race after the disappointment of not finishing at Le Mans."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"This is a positive result at a very fast circuit like Mugello where I thought we might suffer a little with engine performance. Shinya is in the top ten and both he and Alex are ahead of some factory Honda, Yamaha and Ducati riders, so we are in a good position for the race. Bridgestone have some very consistent race tyres here, so a top ten result would be fantastic for us. Kawasaki engineers in Japan have worked very hard to overcome the problems we had in Le Mans and today’s results are proof of that work."


QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 - COMBINED TIMES
POS RIDER CTY TEAM TIME/GAP

1. SETE GIBERNAU SPA TELEFONICA MOVISTAR HONDA
1:49.553
2. NICKY HAYDEN USA REPSOL HONDA
+0.369
3. VALENTINO ROSSI ITA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
+0.373
4. ALEX BARROS BRA REPSOL HONDA
+0.505
5. MARCO MELANDRI ITA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
+0.762
6. MAX BIAGGI ITA CAMEL HONDA TEAM
+0.892
7. MAKOTO TAMADA JPN CAMEL HONDA TEAM
+1.031
8. LORIS CAPIROSSI ITA DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM
+1.146
9. KENNY ROBERTS USA SUZUKI GRAND PRIX TEAM
+1.183
10. SHINYA NAKANO JPN KAWASAKI RACING TEAM
+1.254
11. CARLOS CHECA SPA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
+1.305
12. COLIN EDWARDS USA TELEFONICA MOVISTAR HONDA
+1.417
13. ALEX HOFMANN GER KAWASAKI RACING TEAM
+1.750

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA - MUGELLO
6TH JUNE 2004 - MOTOGP RACE RESULT

HOFMANN FINISHES IN THE POINTS AS NAKANO ESCAPES INJURY IN FEARSOME CRASH

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Alex Hofmann finished 14th in a bizarre day of racing that saw his teammate Shinya Nakano miraculously escape serious injury in a 300 kph crash.

Hofmann scored two points after a conservative ride on slick tyres, in a final six lap dash on a wet track, after the Italian Grand Prix was red-flagged because of rain. Only the second race counted for championship points and positions.
Hofmann started his Ninja ZX-RR from 12th, his position at the red flag, in the second race.

Before the rain stoppage Nakano was lucky to avoid serious injury when he was sent cart wheeling from his Ninja ZX-RR after suffering a rear tyre failure on the high speed front straight just past the start finish line.

The Japanese rider spiralled into a trackside barrier and after treatment at the medical centre it was confirmed that he was suffering from contusions, a bruised left shoulder, a bruised wrist and an injured finger on his right hand.

The impact of Nakano’s crash scattered debris from his machine across the track.

Nakano’s crash made the remainder of Hofmann’s race day extremely difficult. The 24-year-old German rider was a couple of places behind Nakano at the time of the incident and rode past the crash scene to see "a lot of green debris" lying around.

Hofmann had used a different rear tyre to Nakano for the first race and had no tyre problems during the initial 18-lap run. With the Italian GP reduced to a six lap dash Hofmann and the Kawasaki Racing Team made the wise decision to ride for points, as further showers made conditions treacherous and slippery.

Alex Hofmann: 14th
"That was a hard race and it was very difficult to concentrate, especially after Shinya’s crash The weekend was going well and I didn’t want it to end like this. I had seen Shinya ahead of me for many laps and then he was gone. I saw a lot of green debris on the main straight, so it was easy to figure out that something had gone wrong. At this time I slowed down and let Neil Hodgson pass me, so I could concentrate on what was going on with my bike. The second six lap race was insane. There were 17 riders going into turn one in the rain on slicks. I had no choice but to ride around and make sure I got some points; this has been a difficult day for everyone in the team."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"After the promise shown by both riders during practice and qualifying for this race, the result today was not what we were expecting. After getting boxed in at the start, Shinya had begun to move up the field towards the top ten when his rear tyre failed, causing him to crash at the fastest part of the circuit. I saw the crash from pit wall and, after watching the bike cartwheel down the track, I'm amazed that Shinya came through it without serious injury. We don't know what caused the failure at this time, but the tyre will be sent back to Bridgestone in Japan for analysis tomorrow and I'm confident that we'll have an explanation before the next race at Catalunya. Alex was also working his way through the field when the onset of rain brought out the red flags. We had no choice but to start the second part of the race on slicks, but no sooner had the riders lined up on the grid than the rain started to fall again. Alex showed just how much he's matured as a rider this year, with his decision to bring the bike home in the points rather than risking all in such treacherous conditions. He did a good job under difficult circumstances."


MOTOGP RACE - FINAL TIMES
POS RIDER CTY TEAM TIME/GAP

1. VALENTINO ROSSI ITA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
12:06.803
2. SETE GIBERNAU SPA TELEFONICA MOVISTAR HONDA
+0.361
3. MAX BIAGGI ITA CAMEL HONDA TEAM
+1.540
4. TROY BAYLISS AUS DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM
+1.782
5. RUBEN XAUS SPA DANTIN DUCATI TEAM
+2.389
6. ALEX BARROS BRA REPSOL HONDA
+2.446
7. NORICK ABE JPN GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
+5.842
8. LORIS CAPIROSSI ITA DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM
+6.228
9. MARCO MELANDRI ITA GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA
+6.461
10. SHANE BYRNE GBR APRILIA RACING
+7.198
14. ALEX HOFMANN GER KAWASAKI RACING TEAM
+48.091