Kawasaki Press Release - Malaysia

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
MARLBORO MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX - SEPANG
7TH OCTOBER 2004 - EVENT PREVIEW

RACE DAY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR SUPER SHINYA IN SEPANG

Fuchs Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano is hoping to have more than his birthday
to celebrate this Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Nakano turns 27 on race day, and a strong result in the 21-lap race
would add the icing on the cake in what will be Super Shinya's 60th career
MotoGP start.

Nakano is still aiming to achieve a couple of end-of-season goals, to
complete what has been an impressive first season aboard the Kawasaki
Ninja ZX-RR.

A top ten finish is definitely on the agenda and, with three races
remaining, Nakano is just 13 points away from 11th position on the
championship table.

And Nakano is eager to repeat the third place podium he scored at the
recent Japanese Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki rider was on
target for the podium in last Saturday's Qatar GP when he was cruelly
forced to retire from third position with an engine problem on lap four.

And team-mate Alex Hofmann is also looking to consolidate his first
full season of MotoGP racing aboard the Ninja ZX-RR, with a consistent
string of top ten finishes.

Hofmann, 24, is set to make just his 22nd MotoGP start in Sepang, and
is in good form following a tenth in Japan and ninth place in the heat
wave of Qatar.

The 5.5km Sepang circuit, with its combination of parallel high-speed
straights and wide, sweeping curves, is one Hofmann's favourites and the
German rider has his sights set on another top ten finish.

Since arriving from Qatar, Hofmann has taken time off and enjoyed a day
of wake boarding at Mine City with MotoGP colleagues including John
Hopkins, Jeremy McWilliams, Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards. Not
surprisingly, there was a strong element of competition, although no championship
points were counted.

For once the tropical heat and humidity of Sepang seems mild following
the brutal conditions of the Qatar desert race, although the Malaysian
GP will again be an energy-sapping event.

The Malaysian race is the middle of three races in as many weeks, that
started in Qatar last Saturday and moves to Phillip Island next week
for the Australian Grand Prix.

Shinya Nakano: #56
"The conditions will again be hot, but after Qatar I am ready for this
and I know the track very well because of all the testing in Sepang. I
enjoy racing at this circuit, so I think that a good qualifying and
race result is possible. The track is wide and there is more than one
racing line, so there are many opportunities to overtake. We have seen the
potential of the ZX-RR recently and now I want to keep getting good
results in the races. In Kuala Lumpur I have been training a lot because I
didn't do much work in Qatar, only four laps in the race. I've had some
bad luck this season, but I hope everything goes smoothly with the bike
in the Sepang race, so that I can enjoy my birthday."

Alex Hofmann: #66
"For once the weather in Malaysia feels relaxing after Qatar last week.
Since arriving in Malaysia I have been wake boarding with some of the
other riders and it was a lot of fun. I crashed a couple of times, but
at least the water is soft. We didn't keep score but it seems that, at
the moment, Colin Edwards is number one in wake boarding. Coming to
Sepang is always enjoyable because I really like this track, and a lot of
the winter testing is done here. The two long straights require a lot of
top end power output, but the rest of the track demands good corner
speed and precise technique, so there are a couple of positives for the
ZX-RR here."

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
MARLBORO MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX - SEPANG
8TH OCTOBER 2004 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1

HOFMANN QUALIFIES FIFTH ON OPENING DAY AT SEPANG

Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Alex Hofmann and Shinya Nakano, delivered the
best team qualifying performance of the season so far in today's opening
session for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Hofmann was first to stake his claim for a good grid position, setting
the fastest time on race tyres early on in the session, in conditions
made treacherous by the onset of rain shortly before qualifying got
underway.

As the track dried out, the Fuchs Kawasaki rider continued to match the
pace of the front runners, snatching pole again with just ten minutes
of the session left to run.

A flurry of fast laps by the usual suspects eventually demoted the
24-year-old German rider from the top ten in the final minutes, only for
him to bounce back to claim a second row position on the provisional grid
with the fifth fastest time on his final flying lap.

Qualifying specialist Nakano was also in fine form, joining Hofmann at
the top of timing screen early, before surging into the top three with
25 minutes remaining.

Having slipped to ninth place Nakano's final fast lap secured sixth
place with two minutes remaining.

Once the early rain at turn 15 cleared the track dried quickly,
although conditions were cooler than the tropical heat wave that is usual at
Sepang.

Both the Ninja ZX-RR machines of Hofmann and Nakano ran faultlessly
throughout the day, reflecting the impressive response by the Kawasaki
factory in Japan to the engine problems at last week's Qatar Grand Prix.

Including Hofmann and Nakano, there are four Bridgestone riders in the
top six times, as Kawasaki's tyre partner continues to demonstrate its
increasing competitiveness in MotoGP.

Alex Hofmann: 5th (2'03.321)
"When I was on pole late in the session I was praying for rain, and
that no one could go faster. But fifth is great and I just felt
comfortable with the ZX-RR set-up all day. I felt totally in control no matter
what I did with the bike and the times were coming easy; it is a lot of
fun riding when it's like this. From Qatar the team have been able to
improve the set-up to suit my style and this is a track that I really
enjoy. I stayed on slicks throughout the session, despite the rain. I used
a soft qualifier early to get a feel of the track and things just got
better from there.”

Shinya Nakano: 6th (2'03.582)
"This is a good start to the weekend for the Kawasaki team, who have
worked hard to fix the engine problems we had in Qatar. The rain made
track conditions strange today, but I was able to do consistent times
throughout the session and our race tyre choice is looking positive. I
tried a different rear shock setting in the afternoon, but I'm still
looking for a better set-up, as it is important to have rear-end control at
this track. If it's dry tomorrow I'm sure the other riders will be
coming fast, but I'm ready."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"An excellent day. Alex showed great form, he was always in the front
group, and he was rewarded for his aggression and consistency; I hope he
continues with this form. Again Shinya showed the high level of
qualifying performance we have come to expect from him. Clearly Bridgestone
have an excellent tyre for this circuit and in dry conditions it is going
to be tough for the opposition tyres to beat them. And my thanks must
go to the Kawasaki engineers, who have done a lot of work this week and
made a quick response to the piston problems that out motors suffered
in Qatar."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1 - FINAL TIMES
1. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team 2'02.394; 2. Sete Gibernau
(SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +0.235; 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises
Fortuna Yamaha +0.306; 4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team
+0.716; 5. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.927; 6. Shinya
Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.188; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati
Marlboro Team +1.422; 8. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +1.618; 9.
Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.685; 10. Carlos Checa (SPA)
Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +1.851

I was just watching the live session times, and Nakano just jumped into 2nd place on the grid, knocking 1 second off his previous session times... What an effort...

Go Nakkers!!!

Nakkers 3rd - Front Row!!!!

Bloody Barros knocked him from 2nd on the last lap of qualifying!!


Go KNAKKERS!!!!!

Wohoo!! Nakkers in 3rd spot after QP2!!!

I can't believe that last lap.. Robbed for 2nd... *Sighs*


GO NAKKERS!!!!!

Go Nakkers--- They're big they're round and they're GREEN



mario

go greenmachine! PI is going to be awesome!

Hewuuuuuge Nakkers !!!!!!!. PI Should be a Pissa, cant wait,
Cheers Brett