MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
CINZANO RIO GRAND PRIX - NELSON PIQUET CIRCUIT
1ST JULY 2004 - EVENT PREVIEW
HIGH SPEED RIO AWAITS FUCHS KAWASAKI RIDERS
Despite a rushed travel schedule, Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano
and Alex Hofmann, are ready for the annual MotoGP visit to Brazil for
the Rio Grand Prix.
The challenge of the high-speed Rio race comes just one week after the
Dutch TT at Assen. The Rio GP is the seventh round of the MotoGP World
Championship.
For Hofmann it is a welcome return to Brazil where he has not raced for
three years, with his previous appearance being in the 2001 250cc GP.
A steep learning curve awaits MotoGP rookie Hofmann, as makes his 990cc
four stroke debut aboard the Ninja ZX-RR at a track that has a well
deserved reputation for being both bumpy and abrasive.
Even so, the 24-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki rider hopes to capitalise on
the speed and consistency he has shown in recent races.
Meanwhile, Hofmann's Fuchs Kawasaki teammate, Shinya Nakano, believes
the chassis and steering balance of the new generation Ninja ZX-RR,
together with the arrival of further new specification tyres from
Bridgestone, will produce a competitive package this weekend.
The 26-year-old Japanese rider comes to Rio on the back of a season
best fifth qualifying position at Assen, although he was bitterly
disappointed not to finish the Dutch TT after falling victim to a mechanical
problem during the race.
Rio is a once-a-year track with no pre-event testing, thus adding to
the task of both team and tyre engineers to confirm race settings in just
four hours of practice and qualifying.
The 12 turn Rio circuit is part of a complex that includes an Indy car
oval with a layout that features parallel straights. Here it is the
back straight that is the faster and longer of the two and, at 1,000
metres in length, the home of high-speed slipstreaming. The long, fast
curves also place a premium on front-end stability.
This year the Rio race has been returned to a Sunday afternoon staging
and moved forward in the calendar to mid-winter in the Southern
Hemisphere. One benefit could be the absence of the tropical downpours that
have often hit the Rio GP weekend and conditions will be cooler, although
pleasantly mild, with a forecast of 25 degree temperatures during
practice, qualifying and for Sunday's race.
Shinya Nakano: No.56
"I like Brazil and this track. It will be my first time here on the
Ninja ZX-RR and with no testing or previous data available finding a good
race set-up in practice will be critical. The bumps and low grip levels
are not easy to deal with, but the new 2004 Kawasaki chassis is a
strong point for us. Like Assen I'm looking for a good qualifying position,
although this time I want to see the chequered flag at the end of the
race. And it will be good if we have three days of dry weather to
properly evaluate the latest Bridgestone tyres, which we did not get a chance
to do in Assen because of the rain."
Alex Hofmann: No.66
"I'm happy to be back in Rio; I haven't raced here for three years.
It's my first time on a MotoGP bike here, so I'm sure it will take some
time to settle in on the Ninja ZX-RR at this track which is usually bumpy
and dirty for the opening sessions. My last race here was on a 250cc
machine, so it's difficult for me to predict too much regarding the
MotoGP bike, other than that Rio has some long and fast corners, which
usually suit my style. I like the layout of the circuit, although the fast
back straight needs a lot of top speed. Another strong finish and more
championship points is my main aim this weekend."