News, 11/08/04
The three week summer break has been a busy period for Shinya Nakano, who jetted back to Japan after the race at Donington Park to catch up with his family and friends. However, the Kawasaki rider has ended up spending the majority of time in his home country taking part in promotional events for his sponsors and fans, as well as continuing his rigorous personal training programme.
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“Right now I’m on my way to Tokyo and Tohoku in the north of Japan to meet some fans, have a chat and sign autographs,” said Nakano. “I came up with a plan together with my helmet partner Arai to try and spread knowledge of MotoGP to every corner of Japan. We started off in Kyusyu before the start of the season and we’re really happy – it’s proven to be very successful and we’ve had interest from a lot of people.
“Last Sunday I took part in a minibike event for adults, and there were a lot of women there trying out a motorcycle for the first time.
I really enjoyed myself although there were a lot of people there taking it very seriously! Next time I’ll be out to race against them!”
Nakano has also spent time in his hometown of Chiba, where he has worked on his physical preparation – including an intense five-day training camp. “I’ve been working with a French trainer this year - Philip Vidal. Over the summer I’ve worked really hard on the physical side of things and I feel really fit for the rest of the season.”
Reflecting on the opening nine races of his first season with Kawasaki, Nakano says he has met the objectives he set himself at the start of the season but admits to always wanting more and says his target for the rest of the season is a top six finish at least.
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“The goal for the first half of the season was to be up there with the fastest riders in practice and finish in the top ten in the race,” he says. “Basically the only time I haven’t met these targets is when I’ve been unable to finish due to one problem or another, and I have finished seventh twice. But as a rider I am not at all happy with these results.
“In the second half of the season I’ll just be looking to finish as high up as possible. I know that there is work being done on the bike this summer and I have been told that there is new material on the way. Before Motegi and Sepang, two circuits where I feel really comfortable, we will focus on trying to find the ideal set-up.
“My immediate goal is a top six finish, and then a podium as soon as I have the chance.”
