O.J. to Race and Test for Kawasaki

[aardvark]

French rider Olivier Jacque will race for the factory Kawasaki Racing Team in the German and Valencia Grand Prix events in the 2005 MotoGP World Championship.

In addition to these two wild card appearances, Jacque has been signed as Kawasaki's test and development rider and is scheduled to complete 12 test days aboard the Ninja ZX-RR. Jacque's test role will include working with Kawasaki engineers on the development programme for the prototype 2006 model ZX-RR, and with Bridgestone technicians on tyre testing.

For the German and Valencia races Jacque will race a third Ninja ZX-RR machine alongside regular factory riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann.

"It is a very satisfying moment in my career to sign this new contract with Kawasaki, I have not had a full-time job in MotoGP for 18 months," Jacque said.

"I'm very motivated for the race and test programme Kawasaki have given me, I like both the German and Valencia circuits, and I think the ZX-RR has a very high potential. It is an honour to be the rider who will begin the testing of the 2006 prototype Kawasaki MotoGP machine.


"

The three-rider squad entered for Germany and Valencia is a further indication of Kawasaki's commitment to strengthen its presence in the world's premier motorcycle series.

"I'm delighted to have a rider of Olivier's talent in our team for two wild card races and the test programme," said Kawasaki Team Manager, Harald Eckl. “Olivier understands the ZX-RR and the way we go racing, he proved that with his excellent results in China and France."

"Having three riders on the grid at Sachsenring and Valencia is a boost to our race programme, and will provide additional data on both the bike and tyres at these circuits."

Jacque has already raced twice for Kawasaki this season, as substitute for the injured Hofmann in China and France. On a rain-soaked Shanghai track in May, Jacque rode superbly to finish second on the podium and deliver Kawasaki's best ever result in the premier class.

Kawasaki's technical director Ichiro Yoda said that planning had already started for the 2006 season and Jacque would play a pivotal role, in company with Nakano and Hofmann, in the test programme.

"As we begin to formulate our technical plan for 2006 the test programme will be very busy, so Olivier will play an important part in sharing the workload," Yoda said.

"By both racing and testing Olivier will better understand our technical plan for the ZX-RR, and this will also help to maintain his fitness."

"In parallel with the machine it is important to focus on tyre development and having Olivier as test rider will allow Kawasaki to maximise our test programme with Bridgestone. This is very important for the future."

Yoda added that the 2006 MotoGP racer will be "visibly different" from the current ZX-RR machine, as part of Kawasaki's strategy to be a competitive force in the MotoGP World Championship.

[Yankee]

A W E S O M E ! ! ! ! !

[red_dave]

That's fuckin' fantastic...

[icebreaker]

That's the most exciting news I've heard in a long time..

My day just got better

GO OJ!!!

[icebreaker]

I'm also thinking now... bye bye hoffa and hello OJ for 2006... That could be interesting news to wait for.. If they could run 3 bikes in 2006 would be great, but if it remains as 2 bikes I think Hoffman's re-signing could be abit shaky..

[Jonno]

Great news, go OJ you lil bewdy

[Nanna10r]

Thats TOPS, he deserves a ride & more data is good news for both Kwika & Bridgies.
If Germany wasn't such a big Bike market he would have Hoffmans seat full time imho.
cheers Brett

[Blackzxr]

Good Stuff

[smek]

That's great news.

OJ and Hoffman on the track together .... who will win

I tend to agree with hoffman being dropped for OJ in 2006, the line about keeping his fitness up hints at that I reckon.

[Barrabob]

Well if you look at results hoffman beat baylis last week so he cant be all that slow just he isnt a hard charger at the pointy end, add another kwaka though and you might see a bit of racing between themselves which is a good thing as they might pull each other up the results sheet.

Ever reliable nakers came tenth and i dont know where you go to look for fresh talent its going to be pretty hard to convince a 17 year old italian to go racing kwakas in motogp although i reckon the bike has the goods to win just needs the rider to go with the front group....old blubber is not the way to go.

[kempy]

He's not a hard charger at the pointy end? He's not a hard charger anywhere, and what teams wants some slowarse rider who is consistantly slow and average. Bayliss at least can pull good lap times (He just keeps crashing the bike), and I very much doubt Bayliss will have a ride next year.

Hoffman sucks every which way possible. OJ will kick his arse in the two races he'll be in.

[HemiDuty]

I wonder if OJ and Nakkers get on alright? It would be good to have the 2 of them on Kwakas, especially if they can make the bikes more competitive.