Kawasaki WSB / WSS - San Marino

[MadKaw]

Home Race Next Up For PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse
Misano, San Marino, 24 June 2008
Makoto Tamada and Régis Laconi are about to experience their biggest weekend of the year aboard their Ninja ZX-10R machines. Not only is the Misano circuit the home race for their San Marino based PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team, but both riders will hope to make the best combined use of the latest design of rear swingarm, which has proved so effective in finding a good set-up recently.

Until now only Laconi was using the latest swingarm but Tamada will also be running with the same design at Misano. The team will also be running in blue and white livery at some stage on track, the colour of the independent state of San Marino’s national flag.

Each rider has knowledge of the current 4.180km Misano layout which was revamped then completely reversed from its previous incarnations before the race season started last year. Laconi has experience of it as a long-time member of the current PSG-1 team, and Tamada will remember it from his MotoGP experiences in 2007.

Of the two riders Laconi has had the more measurable success at Misano, scoring a double WSB win there in the 2005 season.

Régis Laconi: “I could really fight in the Nürburgring and we have definitely found more rear grip recently. I have to give great thanks to everyone in the team for this, Kawasaki, my chief engineer, the technicians, the Öhlins people, all of them. We are now making small steps to help me in the races, not trying to find big changes. Everything is working right now.”

Makoto Tamada: “We should be able to make another step forward with the setup at Misano and I’m glad that it is a track that I have ridden on before, and recently too. The last few tracks were completely new to me. My bike is a good base for racing and at Misano I want to show that. What we have to do now is fine-tuning. This race is also an important one for my team, as it is their real home round.”

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Supersport Riders Looking For Progress in Misano
Misano, San Marino, 24 June 2008
GIL Kawasaki riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker are fully prepared to take on the challenge of Misano after a recent test found improvements in the set-up of their Ninja ZX-6R machines. In the previous Nürburgring race, and a subsequent test at Brno, Walker found real advances in the setup of his machine, and was also full of praise for the race pace of his bike last time out.

For Fujiwara, who has stood on the podium three times at Misano, but who has never quite won so far, the 4.180km circuit on Italy’s Adriatic coast is a venue laden with opportunities. His riding style clearly favours the mix of tight corners and fast curves on what is a very flat circuit layout.

Chris Walker: “The bike was good in the previous race at Nürburgring and even better in testing, so that can only be good news going into Misano. I like the circuit in Germany and it was also good for the bike. What I need to do in Misano is make the best use of the new tyres to get further up the starting grid, so we can have better results in the races.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “Misano is a circuit I like and I feel very positive about it. I think we can take some good results there. In the last race I could battle for a time in the race but then the front started pushing wide. But that should be much better in Misano for sure.”

[MadKaw]

Laconi Finds Competitiveness In San Marino Qualifying
Misano, San Marino, 28 June 2008
Strong practice performances from both PSG-1 Kawasaki riders have filled them with hope for Sunday’s two 24-lap races at their team’s home circuit. Régis Laconi took his blue-and-white painted Ninja ZX-10R to a pre-Superpole qualifying fourth best time, and despite finding some issues with vibration from his machine’s rear wheel, he finished on row two after Superpole, recording the eighth best time of all.

Makoto Tamada, also running in San Marino’s blue-and-white colours today, overcame the effects of his injured hand to set 12th best lap in Superpole. The Japanese star had also been 12th going into Superpole. Tamada had been using the team’s new design of rear swingarm this weekend and found real improvements as soon as it was fitted.

Laconi is already convinced that after such good qualifying results Misano will be full of opportunities on raceday, while Tamada hopes his hand injury will settle down enough to allow him to race to his full potential.

Régis Laconi: “I think a front row start was really possible today but we experienced some vibration from the rear of the bike, but in every practice so far we have been able to get rid of the chatter. I think something happened with the wheel - maybe the tyre spinning on the rim. It’s a shame because the bike has been good all weekend. We improved all the time, and we are on the second row, and that is one of our best pre-race positions this year. I want to go out and make a good result for Kawasaki - and for the team and San Marino, as this is their home race.”

Makoto Tamada: “I was sure I could do better than 12th because the bike is so good now. We still have to improve the feeling with the front so tomorrow, during the warm up session, we’ll try making the suspension a little bit more rigid. I started to feel pain in my hand and now it is quite swollen. I really hope that it will be OK for tomorrow as I want to do my best for the races.”

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Ninja ZX-6R Riders Fight Hard in Qualifying
Misano, San Marino, 28 June 2008
GIL Kawasaki rider Chris Walker made improvements all through qualifying at Misano, but had to settle for 24th place on the grid after an intense final session this afternoon. Walker was riding at the Misano circuit for the first time since the direction of racing has been reversed at the 4.226km circuit, and the English rider enjoyed the experience, even if he was disappointed not to be further up the grid for Sunday’s 22-lap WSS race.

Fujiwara ran into problems when qualifying, when his number one machine developed a technical hitch and he had to give up the chance to improve his time to something close to Walker’s best. He now starts in 32nd position.

Each rider knows from experience that they can make improvements in real racing conditions and they will be aggressive in the first few laps to make up places and shoot for more points in the championship chase.

Chris Walker: “The track is brilliant here; last time I came here it ran the other way around and had a bad surface but the place is good now. I have gone quicker every session but each time I have gone faster so has everyone else. That’s just how it is, and we are not that far off pole position. Just down in terms of qualifying position. I just need to get a good start and got some points.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We had some problems on my number one bike, which had a good set-up for the track, and we had to stop with that one. I had to use the other one, which did not have the same set-up. That made it very difficult in qualifying. We will go back to the number one machine tomorrow and I am sure we will be able to make improvements in the races. There are not so many places to pass here so I think it will be hard for us, but I’m confident of moving up the order anyway.”

[mfzx6r]

Go Laconi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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