SUPER SHINYA SHOWS HIS PACE AT JEREZ 31/03/04

[icebreaker]

SUPER SHINYA SHOWS HIS PACE AT JEREZ

Fuchs Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano started today's final pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez as he left off at Catalunya, setting the seventh fastest time of the day aboard his Ninja ZX-RR and closing to within 0.7s of reigning World Champion, and the man at the top of today's timesheet, Valentino Rossi.

Overnight rain meant that Nakano and Alex Hofmann were greeted by a damp track as they arrived at the Jerez circuit this morning, but keen to make the most of the break in the weather, and despite the less than perfect conditions, both riders exited pit lane to start testing as soon as dry patches started to appear on the circuit.

Nakano started the day by evaluating changes to both engine and chassis geometry in a bid to improve acceleration and rear traction when on the gas out of the turns. The 26-year-old Japanese rider also tested new rear tyres from Bridgestone, identifying two that worked particularly well around the flowing Jerez circuit.

Hofmann initially focussed on comparing the characteristics of two different specifications of the 990cc inline four-cylinder Ninja ZX-RR engine, before also testing the latest tyres from Bridgestone. In just 49 laps of the Jerez circuit, and in less than ideal conditions, the 23-year-old German rider had already improved upon his best race time from 2003 by a considerable margin.

Both riders set their fastest lap times late in the afternoon, with a time of 1'43.386s securing Nakano seventh place on the timesheet and MotoGP rookie Hofmann finishing an impressive 12th fastest with a lap time of 1'44.009s.

While the weather forecast for tomorrow promises more rain, both Nakano and Hofmann are hopeful of one more day's testing before their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR machines are crated up ready for shipment to South Africa, and the opening race of the season on April 18th.

Shinya Nakano: 7th (1'43.386 - 40 laps)
"We don't know what the weather is going to do tomorrow, so I tried to get as much track time in as I could today. Our main concern at this time is that the bike wants to wheelie and spin up the rear tyre when you get on the gas out of the turns, and solving this problem is our number one priority at the moment. Today we tried some changes to the chassis geometry and the engine but, while there was a slight improvement overall, we still need to do some more work in this area. During the Barcelona test I struggled to find a tyre I was happy with, but Bridgestone have brought two new tyres to Jerez and I think my lap times today are a good indication of how well they work around this circuit. I am happy with the progress we've made in the short time we've had this afternoon and, if the weather holds for tomorrow, I am confident that we'll see further improvements to both the bike and the lap times."

Alex Hofmann: 12th (1'44.009 - 49 laps)
"We've been a little bit lucky with the weather today, as it looked like we were going to have a repeat of the Barcelona test when we arrived to find a very wet circuit this morning. We eventually took to the track around lunchtime, which meant we were kept busy trying to complete the test schedule we had planned for today. Conditions weren't exactly perfect for the first couple of sessions this afternoon, but as the track dried out we were able to start increasing the pace and refining the set up of the bike to suit the circuit. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with what we've achieved today; the bike works well around here and, after just 49 laps, we've already managed to improve on my best race time from last year by over 1.5 seconds. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us tomorrow, as this will be the last chance we get to test before we head off to Welkom for the first race of the season."