Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX - ESTORIL
2ND SEPTEMBER 2004 - EVENT PREVIEW

FUCHS KAWASAKI PREPARE TO GET SEASON BACK ON TRACK AT ESTORIL

Estoril is a popular stop on the MotoGP calendar, and a fitting venue
to end the European summer races with this Sunday's Portuguese Grand
Prix; the eleventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.

Following are four long haul races in Japan, Qatar, Malaysia and
Australia, before the season-ending Valencia GP in Spain.

But for now the challenge is the 4.1 km Estoril circuit; the slowest on
the GP schedule with a lap average speed of just 151 kph (93 mph).

And it is a challenge Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex
Hofmann, are relishing after last week's exhaustive test sessions at Brno
in the Czech Republic.

The tests produced positive data on a range of performance options
including motor, fuel injection, electronics, clutch, suspension and tyres.
Both Nakano and Hofmann ran a string of impressive and consistent lap
times in an effort to advance development of the Ninja ZX-RR, and both
are in a confident mood for the Portugal race.

At Estoril the Kawasaki squad are planning to run ZX-RR machines in
slightly different specifications for their factory riders.

Hofmann will use the latest Akrapovic exhaust system tested at Brno
plus a revised motor specification, which the 24-year-old German rider
found complimented his style at the Brno test.

Meanwhile Nakano will stay with the proven ZX-RR race package that has
produced four top ten results for the stylish Japanese ace this season.

The Estoril track has a long main straight of almost 1,000 metres,
which produces 300 kph plus top speeds, but much of the rest of the circuit
is tight and technical, with two corners that are critical to lap
times; the fast, fifth gear right hander on the approach to the back
straight, and the final turn, a long right-hander through which riders are
constantly accelerating at high lean angle onto the high-speed front
straight.

Typically the weather plays an important role at Estoril with its
proximity to the Atlantic coast. Strong winds, baking sun and summer rain
showers are all in the mix for a circuit that is also notoriously bumpy
and a challenge for set-up balance for both riders and engineers.

Alex Hofmann: #66
"I didn't race in MotoGP at Estoril last year, so my only experience at
this track is on a 250. I'm sure it's going to be very interesting to
see how the latest ZX-RR adapts to this circuit. The main straight is
just a power blast coming off the final corner, while the rest is
technical and very challenging. The new forks tested at Brno are a step
forward on the brakes, and also the clutch parts should give us a better
start line launch, which has been a problem for us this year. Often the
weather can be strange at Estoril, so I hope that is kind to us and that
we have a warm and dry weekend."

Shinya Nakano: #56
"I'm optimistic for Estoril following the Brno tests, where we did a
lot of work to evaluate many performance ideas for the ZX-RR. I have been
disappointed with my results at the past two races, so it is important
for our motivation to make progress at the test sessions. The forks
have improved the front chatter problem and provide more front tyre
feedback, which will give us confidence at Estoril. I'm hoping for a better
start with our new clutch set-up, and to be racing much closer to the
front than I did at Donington and Brno. I've enjoyed a few days relaxing
in Barcelona since the hard work of the test days, and hopefully the
weather will stay dry and hot."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"The Brno test was very productive for Kawasaki engineers and the ZX-RR
program. It was a busy two days and we made important gains with the
new Öhlins front forks, and also with the fuel injection system. The long
straight at Estoril will test our current level of top end power, but
we are optimistic for our overall performance - although we would prefer
a dry race in terms of tyre choice. Shinya will race our proven package
here, and we agree with his preference for that set-up at the moment,
while Alex will use a slightly different motor and exhaust parts as part
of our development program. "

Full MotoGP final qualifying times for the Portuguese Grand Prix, at Estoril, round eleven of the 2004 world championship.


1. Makoto Tamada JPN Camel Honda 1min 37.933 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1min 38.036 secs
3. Sete Gibernau SPA Telefonica Movistar Honda 1min 38.067 secs
4. Max Biaggi ITA Camel Honda 1min 38.069 secs
5. Alex Barros BRA Repsol Honda 1min 38.215 secs
6. John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki 1min 38.323 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 1min 38.367 secs
8. Colin Edwards USA Telefonica Movistar Honda 1min 38.438 secs
9. Kenny Roberts USA Team Suzuki 1min 38.74 secs
10. Carlos Checa SPA Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1min 38.862 secs
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 1min 39.071 secs
12. Shinya Nakano JPN Fuchs Kawasaki 1min 39.157 secs
13. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Marlboro 1min 39.279 secs
14. Norick Abe JPN Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 1min 39.635 secs
15. Neil Hodgson GBR d'Antin Ducati 1min 39.677 secs
16. Jeremy McWilliams GBR MS Aprilia 1min 39.815 secs
17. Alex Hofmann GER Fuchs Kawasaki 1min 39.852 secs
18. Ruben Xaus SPA d'Antin Ducati 1min 40.259 secs
19. Michel Fabrizio ITA MS Aprilia 1min 40.586 secs
20. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Proton Team KR 1min 41.279 secs
21. James Ellison GBR Harris WCM 1min 42.284 secs
22. Chris Burns GBR Harris WCM 1min 43.293 secs



Regards
Glenn(zx7r).

gonna make a big call here, given the track will be using up tyres (i suppose they all do) #1. Biaggi (despite the fact i'm no fan), #2. Rossi, #3. Gibernau. Any takers on how many laps Barros completes b4 chucking it. Troy and Shinya will be fighting it out for the BBQ championship.

I guess a lot depends on the weather. It was raining in 2nd practice but dry in final qualifying. It seems like it has been off and on all weekend.

If it rains for the race duration, Rossi wont be on the podium, and Bayliss may be able to work his way up the field if he gets a good start and has good position after the first and second lap. I think Hopkins may be a chance of a podium too. Barros will crash in the first half of the race - he has already crashed once this weekend.

I'll go for Stoner actually finishing a race this weekend, and if he does, he'll win. KTM are 1&2 on the grid so they seem to have it together and I dont think Stoner will let Kallio beat him. I'll also go for Westie to win in the 250's if its raining, 4th if its dry.

In WSS - Pitt has qualified 3rd on the Yamaha! I hope he kicks muggas arse. With any luck, I hope its Pitt, Curtain, Muggas, Parkes in that order. WSB - Vermuelen to win or 2nd only to Chili.

Go Troy! Go Casey! Go Pitty! What have you got against Muggas apart from a semi factory ride, film star looks, and rides a H....a he's a good bloke. Kev is a track god.
I'd like to think that all the Australians riding o'seas are there because they are supreme talented two wheeled athletes who more than earned their rides.

I lost all respect for Muggas when I saw footage of him at P.I in the 250's punch a guy in the helmet who was lying on the ground, visbly in pain after highsiding at Honda corner.

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX - ESTORIL
3RD SEPTEMBER 2004 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1

TOUGH OPENING DAY AT ESTORIL FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI

Today's first qualifying session for Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix at
Estoril proved to be a tough one for the Fuchs Kawasaki pairing of
Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann.

A problem with the exhaust system on his number one machine at the
start of this afternoon's session meant that Nakano was limited to using
his spare Ninja ZX-RR, and the track time lost as a result cost the
Japanese rider any chance of securing a top ten starting position on the
provisional grid.

In addition, the spare bike wasn't fitted with the latest version of
the Öhlins forks which had produced much-improved braking stability at
the recent Brno tests.

Over the notorious Estoril bumps Nakano could not reproduce the 'feel'
and chassis balance he found with his number one bike in the morning
free practice session, despite running a total of 26 laps.

Meanwhile Hofmann's first outing on the Ninja ZX-RR at the twisty and
demanding 4.1 km Estoril track was a difficult one, as he worked to
overcome a lack of feeling from the front end.

The 24-year-old German rider lacked feedback from the front suspension
on corner entry today, but is optimistic that with revised settings
from Kawasaki and Öhlins engineers, and another day's MotoGP experience on
the Estoril track, he will produce faster times tomorrow.

Nakano's bikes were fitted with the standard spec ZX-RR motors, while
Hofmann's machines ran some development parts - including a new,
twin-pipe Akrapovic exhaust.

However Hofmann had little time to evaluate engine performance, as he
struggled to find a comfortable front end set-up.

Shinya Nakano: 14th (1'39.751)
"I think I was unlucky today when I could only use one bike for
qualifying. In free practice I had excellent feeling and had found some good
tyre options with my main ZX-RR race bike, which was fitted with the new
forks. When I switched to the spare I just couldn't get the same
feeling, especially under braking. For the moment I prefer the response of
the standard ZX-RR motor, and with two bikes running tomorrow I'm
confident of going faster."

Alex Hofmann: 18th (1'40.623)
"My main problem was with the front suspension set-up over the bumps,
on the brakes, into the corner. This is not a track that rewards you
with fast times if you lack front end confidence. The new forks felt great
at Brno last week, and I'm sure it is just a matter of fine tuning the
set-up as I've never ridden a MotoGP bike here before. I was battling
the front so much I couldn't really concentrate on any engine work
today, so hopefully it will stay dry tomorrow because I have a lot of
catching up to do."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1 - FINAL TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1'38.036; 2. Sete
Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +0.031; 3. Alex Barros (BRA)
Repsol Honda +0.179; 4. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +0.306; 5. Max
Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.573; 6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Gauloises
Fortuna Yamaha +0.674; 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda
+0.702; 8. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +0.786; 9. Loris
Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.035; 10. Kenny Roberts (USA)
Suzuki Grand Prix Team +1.042; 11. Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna
Yamaha +1.127; 14. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.715; 18.
Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.587;

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX - ESTORIL
3RD SEPTEMBER 2004 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRIPLE WORLD CHAMPION JOINS FUCHS KAWASAKI AT ESTORIL

He may not have won his three world titles aboard a Kawasaki, but that
wasn't going to stop Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team Manager, Harald Eckl,
from insisting that Luigi Taveri join him in the Kawasaki hospitality
unit for lunch, after bumping into the triple World Champion in the
Estoril paddock.

Born in 1929, Taveri is one of the few riders who can lay claim to
international racing experience on both two and three wheels. During his
debut international season, the Swiss rider competed in Grand Prix as a
sidecar passenger for Hans Haldemann, while at the same time campaigning
privately owned 350cc and 500cc British built Norton machines in the
solo classes.

In his time Taveri was a factory rider for Ducati, MZ and Kreidler, but
it was with Honda that he had his greatest success, winning three world
championship titles for the Japanese factory; the last of which came in
1966 aboard Honda's famous 20,000 rpm, five-cylinder RC149 machine.

Proving his versatility even further, Taveri also took three Isle of
Man TT victories during his time with Honda; two in the Lightweight 125cc
TT and one in the 50cc TT.

But while his racing days may be well and truly behind him now,
75-year-old Taveri is still heavily involved with motorcycles. As well as
riding regularly on the road, the Swiss resident spends a lot of his spare
time restoring old motorcycles, with his air stewardess daughter
regularly recruited to bring back the more difficult to get hold of parts
from her travels abroad.

For Alex Hofmann, today was something of a reunion. The Fuchs Kawasaki
rider moved to Switzerland at the start of the 2004 season, and it
didn't take long for him to discover he had a former World Champion as a
close neighbour; Taveri is well known in the area.

"Luigi might be 75-years-old, but you'd never guess it," said Alex
Hofmann. "He still rides a bike on the road, and he's invariably one of the
faster riders when he makes one of his regular appearances at classic
race meetings. I guess with Luigi it's a case of once a racer, always a
racer; I know his family have suggested to him a few times that he
might like to slow down a bit, but it's obvious that he isn't taking their
suggestions too seriously just yet! It's good to see him here in
Estoril, and I'm sure he'll have a few pointers for me once he's had a chance
to get out on track and see what's going on."

"I'm proud to welcome a champion such as Luigi Taveri into our team,"
declared Fuchs Kawasaki Team Manager, Harald Eckl. "It is incredible
that he still displays the same passion for motorcycles and racing now
that he obviously had during his racing career. It was also very
interesting to listen to riders from two very different generations talking
together, and it was a good opportunity for Alex and Shinya to exchange
views and ideas with someone who was so successful in what was definitely
a golden era in Grand Prix racing. While Grand Prix racing may have
changed beyond all recognition over the past four decades, one thing still
remains the same; to do well in this sport a rider must display the
same determination to succeed that took Luigi to his three world titles."

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX - ESTORIL
4TH SEPTEMBER 2004 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

NAKANO LEADS FUCHS KAWASAKI SQUAD AT ESTORIL

Fuchs Kawasaki rider, Shinya Nakano, qualified his Ninja ZX-RR in
twelfth place for tomorrow's Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.

Nakano improved his best time by more than half second this afternoon,
to secure a start from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow. Nakano's
Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate, Alex Hofmann, will start the 28-lap Portuguese
Grand Prix from 17th position, after carving three-quarters of a second
off his previous best time.

Final qualifying was run on a dry and warm track, which was a dramatic
contrast to the rain-hit morning free practice session that reduced
today's dry track time to just one hour.

This left Hofmann and his hard working Kawasaki crew little time to
solve the front-end set-up problems which had troubled the 24-year-old
German yesterday during his first appearance on a four-stroke MotoGP bike
at Estoril.

However, by the end of the session, Hofmann was much happier with his
ZX-RR set-up for the race on the twisting and technical Estoril circuit.
Despite the unsettling process of many pit stops for set-up changes,
Hofmann's efforts took him to within 0.5s of 13th on the grid.

Both Nakano and Hofmann recovered strongly after a troubled first day
of qualifying, that had seen Nakano restricted to just one bike after
exhaust problems sidelined his preferred ZX-RR machine.

Tomorrow's race is the 11th round of the MotoGP World Championship,
with both Nakano and Hofmann hoping for a repeat of this afternoon's warm
track conditions.

Shinya Nakano: 12th (1'39.157)
"I pushed really hard to get into the top ten, but just missed out in
the end. It's not ideal, but I guess a fourth row start is okay for
tomorrow's race. The front end braking stability is improved from
yesterday, although today I lacked some control at the rear. It's not such a big
thing, but I will try to make further improvements with some slightly
different engine and suspension settings in warm up tomorrow. After the
rain the track felt like it had a little less grip, but I improved my
time from yesterday, so I can't complain. I think we have an excellent
race tyre choice for this track tomorrow, as long as conditions stay
dry."

Alex Hofmann: 17th (1'39.852)
"I'm not exactly happy to be back in 17th position on the grid, but
with only one hour of dry track time in which to overcome many set-up
problems, it could have been a lot worse. At least it was dry this
afternoon; if the rain had persisted into qualifying we'd have had some serious
problems. It was a tough session, and we had to make a lot of big
changes to solve the lack of front end feel I experienced yesterday. But,
overall, I made good progress with the settings today, although my final
fast lap was not perfect. The times around me on the grid are close, so
this gives me some incentive for a competitive race and some points."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"This was a productive day in terms of race set-up and tyre choice, and
I think we have the race speed for Shinya to be challenging for a top
ten finish. I'm also confident that Alex's crew have found a set-up on
the bike that will allow him to finish in the points tomorrow. Overall,
today's results show the potential of the ZX-RR at this time, and our
development focus must continue to be on engine performance and power
delivery. I'm hoping for a sunny day tomorrow, because our wet set-up,
both bike and tyres, definitely needs more work."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 - COMBINED TIMES
1. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team 1'37.933; 2. Valentino Rossi
(ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.103; 3. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica
Movistar Honda +0.134; 4. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.136; 5.
Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +0.282; 6. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki
Grand Prix Team +0.390; 7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha
+0.434; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +0.505; 9.
Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +0.807; 10. Carlos Checa (SPA)
Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.929; 11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati
Marlboro Team +1.138; 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.224;
17. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.919

Full MotoGP race results for the Portuguese Grand Prix, at Estoril, round eleven of the 2004 world championship.


1. Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 46min 34.911 secs
2. Makoto Tamada JPN Camel Honda 46min 40.022 secs
3. Alex Barros BRA Repsol Honda 46min 43.068 secs
4. Sete Gibernau SPA Telefonica Movistar Honda 46min 43.223 secs
5. Carlos Checa SPA Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 46min 52.877 secs
6. John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki 46min 53.542 secs
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 46min 58.581 secs
8. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Marlboro 47min 0.037 secs
9. Colin Edwards USA Telefonica Movistar Honda 47min 0.522 secs
10. Norick Abe JPN Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 47min 1.638 secs
11. Shinya Nakano JPN Fuchs Kawasaki 47min 19.615 secs
12. Jeremy McWilliams GBR MS Aprilia 47min 25.422 secs
13. Alex Hofmann GER Fuchs Kawasaki 47min 29.283 secs
14. Kenny Roberts USA Team Suzuki 47min 34.429 secs
15. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Proton Team KR 48min 7.764 secs
16. James Ellison GBR Harris WCM 46min 49.825 secs

DNF:

Ruben Xaus SPA d'Antin Ducati 30min 25.515 secs
Neil Hodgson GBR d'Antin Ducati 27min 4.29 secs
Michel Fabrizio ITA MS Aprilia 18min 56.766 secs
Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 11min 44.108 secs
Max Biaggi ITA Camel Honda did not complete lap 1

DNS:
Chris Burns GBR Harris WCM



Regards
Glenn(zx7r).

Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano showed true fighting spirit, with an impressive ride from the back of the grid to finish a creditable eleventh in Sunday's hot and gruelling Moto GP Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.

Because of a leaking oil seal Nakano had to switch to his spare Ninja ZX-RR race bike just before the start, forcing the Japanese ace to line-up in last place on the 21 rider grid.

Nakano made a good start and rode well to make up six places on lap one.

After a long battle chasing Ducati, Aprilia and Suzuki rivals, Nakano passed Jeremy McWilliams on lap 17, and then four laps later he secured 11th place by overtaking Suzuki rival Kenny Roberts.

"I am obviously disappointed with the result today," said Nakano. "I really don't like racing this far from the front of the field, it's very frustrating.

"Because of the problem on the warm up lap I had to start on my spare bike at the back of the grid, which is never easy. My times were pretty consistent throughout the race, but starting so far back meant a better result just wasn't possible today. Tomorrow (Monday) we test here at Estoril and my main focus now is not on today's result, but on finding a good set-up for my home Grand Prix at Motegi."

Herald Eckl, the Kawasaki team manager, commended his riders efforts but knows to get more speed and better results they will need to develop their engine further.

"Shinya's race bike had a leaking oil seal and, for safety's sake, the decision was made to switch to his spare machine," said Eckl. "In these difficult circumstances Shinya did an excellent job today.

"At the end of the race Alex (Hofmann - 13th) managed to improve his lap times to the point where he was as fast as Shinya, but while he definitely has the potential to score more points, he needs to work on his consistency," added Eckl.

"Both riders finished in the points today, but clearly we still need to improve things in the engine department if we are to make the next step."




Regards
Glenn(zx7r).

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX - ESTORIL
5TH SEPTEMBER 2004 - MOTOGP RACE RESULT

NAKANO AND HOFMANN IN THE POINTS FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano showed his true fighting spirit,
with an impressive ride from the back of the grid to finish a creditable
eleventh in today's hot and gruelling Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.

And team-mate Alex Hofmann delivered a double-points finish for
Kawasaki, by charging home in 13th place aboard his Ninja ZX-RR.

Because of a leaking oil seal Nakano had to switch to his spare Ninja
ZX-RR race bike just before the start, forcing the Japanese ace to
line-up in last place on the 21 rider grid.

Nakano made a lightning start and rode brilliantly to make up six
places on lap one.

Settling into a consistent rhythm, Nakano was determined to improve his
points scoring position from 15th place in a tight pack of riders over
the next 27 laps.

After a long battle chasing Ducati, Aprilia and Suzuki rivals, Nakano
passed Jeremy McWilliams on lap 17, and then four laps later he secured
11th place by overtaking Suzuki rival Kenny Roberts.

From 17th on the grid Hofmann was boxed in by heavy traffic through
turns one and two, and he rode a frustrating race as he tried to find a
consistent pace after an unsettling start.

After two days of set-up problems at Estoril, Hofmann was not
comfortable with the balance of his ZX-RR over the race distance until the final
stages, when he was able to match Nakano's race pace.

Three laps from the finish Hofmann also charged ahead of Roberts to
claim thirteenth position at the flag.

Today's race was watched by a crowd of more than 45,000 people.

Shinya Nakano: 11th
"I am obviously disappointed with the result today. I really don't like
racing this far from the front of the field; it's very frustrating.
Because of the problem on the warm up lap I had to start on my spare bike
at the back of the grid, which is never easy. My times were pretty
consistent throughout the race, but starting so far back meant a better
result just wasn't possible today. Tomorrow we test here at Estoril and my
main focus now is not on today's result, but on finding a good set-up
for my home Grand Prix at Motegi."

Alex Hofmann: 13th
"Right from the start I didn't feel comfortable at all, and I couldn't
find a good rhythm on the bike. I was forcing myself to get on the
pace, but this is not an enjoyable way to go fast and, as a result, I found
the first part of the race really tough. I had the best set-up we could
find after all our problems in practice but, for sure, a weak point for
me today was a lack of consistent race times. Late in the race I did
some good times, but I want to do much better than this in the remaining
races of the season."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"Shinya's race bike had a leaking oil seal and, for safety's sake, the
decision was made to switch to his spare machine. In these difficult
circumstances Shinya did an excellent job today. At the end of the race
Alex managed to improve his lap times to the point where he was as fast
as Shinya, but while he definitely has the potential to score more
points, he needs to work on his consistency. Both riders finished in the
points today, but clearly we still need to improve things in the engine
department if we are to make the next step."

MOTOGP RACE RESULT
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 46'34.911; 2. Makoto
Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +5.111; 3. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda
+8.157; 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +8.312; 5.
Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +17.966; 6. John Hopkins (USA)
Suzuki Grand Prix Team +18.631; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati
Marlboro Team +23.670; 8. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +25.126; 9.
Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +25.611; 10. Norick Abe
(JPN) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +26.727; 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki
Racing Team +44.704; 12. Jeremy McWilliams (GBR) Proton Team KR
+50.511; 13. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +54.372

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
FUCHS KAWASAKI DEVELOPMENT TEST - ESTORIL
6TH SEPTEMBER 2004 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI AT ESTORIL

Fuchs Kawasaki were back on track at Estoril today, just 24 hours after
the Portuguese Grand Prix, testing new fuel injection components and
chassis settings as part of the ongoing development of the Ninja ZX-RR.

For Alex Hofmann, today's test gave him the opportunity to work on
solving the set-up problems that affected his performance in yesterday's
race. Changes to suspension and chassis made a noticeable improvement and
resulted in the Fuchs Kawasaki rider ending today's test one second
faster than his best race time.

With his set-up sorted, Hofmann completed 63 laps of the Brno circuit,
testing new fuel injection components and a range of new front and rear
tyres from Bridgestone. But while the 24-year-old German rider was
happy with his progress today, the same wasn't true of his feelings for the
local wildlife. On his final run this afternoon, an errant wasp managed
to force its way into Hofmann's leathers, stinging him three times on
the chest before the Fuchs Kawasaki rider had a chance to open his zip
and remove it.

Shinya Nakano also tested the new fuel injection system, designed by
Magneti Marelli specifically for the Ninja ZX-RR, with positive results.
The 26-year-old Japanese rider felt that that the latest version of the
fuel injection system gave more power, but also made this additional
power easier to use.

In addition, the 26-year-old Japanese rider tested revised chassis
geometry on his Ninja ZX-RR that made the bike more stable under braking
and less likely to spin up the rear tyre under acceleration.

Both Fuchs Kawasaki riders now have a few days of well earned rest,
before heading out to Motegi and the Japanese Grand Prix; round twelve in
this year's MotoGP World Championship.

Alex Hofmann: 63 Laps - 1'39.97
"It's no secret that I struggled with set-up in yesterday's race, so
the test today gave us an opportunity to work through a few options in a
bid to improve things. The changes definitely seem to have worked, as I
was a full second faster today than I was in the race. We also
continued to test the new fuel injection parts we first tried on the bike in
Brno, and there is definitely a lot of potential there. Bridgestone also
had some new front and rear tyres for us to test and, again, there was
a definite improvement. So, overall we've made a lot of progress today,
which will stand us in good stead at Motegi. It's just a pity that
circumstances stopped us from making the same progress in time for
yesterday's race."

Shinya Nakano: 58 Laps - 1'39.63
"The main focus today has been on testing again the new fuel injection
system, but we've also tried slightly different chassis geometry on the
bike as well. The new fuel injection seems to offer more power, as well
as improving acceleration. I think this new system has a lot of
potential. The chassis changes also produced a positive result, providing
better stability under braking and making the bike less prone to spinning
up out of the turns. Now I'm looking forward to Motegi; it's my home
Grand Prix and I'll definitely be looking for my best result of the season
in front of my home crowd."

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Coordinator
"Our main focus today has been on the new fuel injection system;
gathering enough data for the engineers so that they can continue the
development process between now and the next test. Both riders had positive
comments about the new system, which indicates that we're definitely
moving in the right direction. We also managed to rectify the chassis
problems that both riders suffered from in yesterday's race, as well as
testing a number of new front and rear tyres from Bridgestone. Overall,
we've made quite a few improvements ready for the next race at Motegi."