Kawasaki Racing Team - Brno

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
17 AUGUST 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BACK TO WORK FOR NAKANO AND DE PUNIET AT BRNO

The Kawasaki Racing Team return to racing this weekend, with Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet determined to get the final part of the season off to a flying start, after spending time relaxing at home with family and friends during the three-week summer break.

The race, at the classic and fast 5.4 km Brno circuit, is the 12th round of the MotoGP World Championship. It is the first of a hectic schedule of races that will see six events conducted in ten weeks to close the season at Valencia on October 29.

While de Puniet managed to stay away from the racetrack for the entire three weeks of the summer break, Nakano was unable to resist the opportunity to attend the Suzuka eight-hour endurance race while at home in Japan.

But it's back to work at Brno this weekend for both Kawasaki riders, at a circuit that Nakano feels has certain sections that will suit the characteristics of the 2006 Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider got his weekend off to a dramatic start on Wednesday evening, as he finished second in the annual go-kart endurance challenge organised by Kawasaki Czech Republic. As a result, Nakano heads into this weekend hopeful of repeating his podium performance in Sunday's 22-lap race.

Despite being one of the fastest go-kart drivers on track, Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy De Puniet, finished well down the order with his team in the two-hour challenge, but remains confident of a better result with his Ninja ZX-RR this weekend.

De Puniet has endured what can only be described as a difficult start to his debut season in MotoGP, but the 25-year-old Frenchman is hoping that the next six races will see an upturn in his race results, starting this weekend at Brno.

Located 200 kilometres southeast of the Czech capitol, Prague, the current Brno circuit was constructed in 1987. Before that, Grand Prix races were held on a public roads circuit, with literally hundreds of thousands of Czech motorcycle racing fans turning out to watch from the roadside.

While the crowd for this weekend is likely to somewhat smaller, the enthusiasm of the present day Czech race fans can be relied upon to easily match that of their predecessors from the 1970's.

Shinya Nakano: #56
"It was good to get away from the racetrack and relax for a while, especially after the tight programme we had in the run up to Laguna, but I didn't manage to stay away from the racetrack for the whole three weeks. While I was in Japan I went to the Suzuka eight-hour endurance race. I've never raced endurance, so it was interesting to see what goes on, and it was good to get the opportunity to meet the fans without the distraction of having to race myself. But now the break is over, and it's back to work at Brno. I like the Brno circuit, and I won here on the 250cc, but it's not been such a good track for me on the MotoGP bike in recent years. The track is fast, but I think the critical part is from the halfway point, where it's all up hill to the finish line. You need to be quick through this section to guarantee a fast lap. After three weeks away from MotoGP, it would be good to start the last part of the season with a good result, and that's exactly what we'll be aiming for this weekend."

Randy de Puniet: #17
"It seems like a long time since the Laguna Seca race. After the US Grand Prix I spent a week in America, travelling up to Los Angeles and Las Vegas before heading back to France and then Andorra. To be honest I've not done much since returning to Europe. It's just been a case of relaxing as much as possible, after a particularly demanding run of races leading up to the summer break. It was good to get away from the racetrack for a while, to recharge the batteries, but now I'm looking forward to getting back to work at Brno this weekend. I like this track; it's enjoyable to race at and I've had some good results here on the 250cc machine in the past. Like many of the circuits this season, it's sure to look different from the seat of a Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine, but I'm confident that I can make the necessary adjustment during free practice, and I hope we will have a good weekend here."

[HemiDuty]

Here's hoping!

[mfzx6r]

Lets hope team Green do well

[Nanna10r]

Has Kwaka confirmed Riders for nest year yet ?.
I think Randy's seat would be under threat if he doesn't perform in the next couple of races. It's a damn pity after watching Randy in the 05 Donnington 250cc race i thought he would make the step up as well as Stoner & Pedrossa have.

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
18 AUGUST 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DE PUNIET AND NAKANO ON THE PACE AT BRNO

The MotoGP World Championship battle was rejoined today at Brno, with most of the riders now fully fit after three weeks away from the racetrack. But it was Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet who illustrated best the benefits of rest and relaxation on performance, finishing this afternoon's free practice session in second place, and just one tenth of a second down on reigning world champion, Valentino Rossi.

The 25-year-old Frenchman concentrated on the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR during this morning's opening free practice session, switching between his two race machines frequently as he tested different combinations of suspension and engine settings, as well as a number of different tyres from Kawasaki's tyre partner, Bridgestone.

The Kawasaki rider continued this refinement process during the early part of the afternoon free practice session, before switching to the qualifying tyre on which he set his fastest time of the day to take second place on the timesheet.

But more important than his lap time was the renewed confidence instilled in de Puniet by his ability to get the best performance from Bridgestone's qualifying tyre this afternoon, as a lack of confidence in the increased level of grip offered by the qualifying tyres had an obvious negative effect on the Kawasaki pilot's qualifying performances ahead of the summer break.

De Puniet ended the day satisfied with both the race and qualifying set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR, but remains confident that more improvements can be made during free practice and qualifying tomorrow.

Also satisfied with his race set-up was de Puniet's Kawasaki teammate, Shinya Nakano. The 28-year-old Japanese rider finished this afternoon's free practice sixth fastest, after running in the top three on the timesheet for the majority of the hour-long session.

Nakano is running for the first time at Brno the latest specification Ninja ZX-RR chassis, which has been designed specifically by Kawasaki engineers in Japan to alleviate the rear traction problems experienced at some circuits earlier in the season.

After testing the revised chassis during this morning's practice session, Nakano will continue with this chassis for the remainder of the weekend, as he felt the changes improved both the rear traction and the feedback from the front and rear tyres, especially through Brno's high speed corners.

While some riders opted to run a qualifying tyre at the end of this afternoon's practice session, Nakano decided to continue refining the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR with a long run on race tyres, leaving the soft rubber for tomorrow's all-important qualifying session.

Randy de Puniet: 2nd - 1'58.028
"Today we've concentrated on testing as many different set-up and tyre options as possible on both bikes. For most of the time I was running pretty consistently at two minutes flat, but we didn't get a chance today to put the best tyres on the bike with the better set-up, so I'm confident that, when we do that tomorrow, we'll see a significant improvement in my lap time in race trim. Before the summer break I was struggling to get the best from the qualifying tyres, so we decided to run one this afternoon to see if I could regain the confidence I had earlier in the season. I'm happy to say that it worked, with the result that I finished today with the second fastest time. As I said, we still have some work to do on set-up during tomorrow's free practice session, and I hope I can repeat today's performance on a qualifier tomorrow afternoon."

Shinya Nakano: 6th - 1'59.240
"In the past Brno has always been one of our problem tracks, but after today I'm not sure that's true anymore. The revised chassis is certainly an improvement, giving better grip and virtually eliminating the chatter we've had previously. To be honest, we've had to make very few changes to the set-up of my Ninja ZX-RR since this morning, which has given us more time to focus on evaluating the different tyres that Bridgestone have brought to this race. Compared to last year we also have more revs from the 2006 engine, and this makes the bike a lot easier to ride fast around this circuit. Over a long run this afternoon my times were pretty consistent, which puts us in a good position ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session. Overall, I'm happy with our progress today; it was a good way to start back after the summer break."

FREE PRACTICE - COMBINED TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 1'57.871; 2. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.157; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.599; 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.980; 5. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +1.248; 6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.369; 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.383; 8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +1.387; 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +1.442; 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +1.516

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
19 AUGUST 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SECOND ROW FOR NAKANO AT KAWASAKI'S FORMER 'BOGEY TRACK'

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano will start tomorrow's 22-lap Czech Grand Prix from the second row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in fifth position during this afternoon's hotly contested timed session.

The 28-year-old Japanese ace had his sights set firmly on a front row grid position, but lost out by just one tenth of a second, as a succession of fast laps right at the end of the qualifying session pushed Nakano back from third to fifth place on the timesheet.

But the Kawasaki pilot is confident that he can mount an attack from the second row of the grid during tomorrow's race. This confidence comes from finding a race set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR that allowed Nakano to run consistently in the top three on the timesheet on his preferred race tyre, before switching to super sticky qualifiers at the end of this afternoon's timed session.

Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, will start the second Ninja ZX-RR from the fourth row tomorrow, after finishing today's qualifying session tenth fastest; less than a second behind pole sitter, and reigning world champion, Valentino Rossi.

Although disappointed at not securing a grid position closer to that of his more experienced teammate, the 25-year-old Frenchman is still confident of putting in a strong performance in tomorrow's race, as long he can get a good start and make up positions on the opening lap.

Shinya Nakano: 5th - 1'56.770
"After three good free practice sessions here at Brno, the second row was my minimum target this afternoon. Obviously, I'd have preferred to be making my fourth front row start of the season tomorrow, but I think it's still possible to get away with the leaders from the second row of the grid. Our Ninja ZX-RR has been working well at this circuit right from the start of free practice and, with the refinements we've made today, I think we've got the best possible combination of chassis and engine set-up for this circuit, together with a race tyre from Bridgestone that we know will also work well tomorrow. I'm confident going into the race, which is a new feeling for me at Brno, as our results here for the past two seasons haven't been so good. I think our obvious improvement this year, at what we've always regarded as a bogey track for us, just goes to show how much progress Kawasaki have made with the Ninja ZX-RR since this time last year."

Randy de Puniet: 10th - 1'57.185
"While qualifying down in tenth place this afternoon was a little disappointing, more important for the race is that we have a good set-up with our Ninja ZX-RR in race trim, and I'm confident that this will allow me to make up places tomorrow. Of course, starting from the fourth row of the grid makes things difficult for the race tomorrow, as I've discovered already this year. The most important thing is not to lose any further places at the start. If I can get away cleanly from the line then I'm confident I can make up places early in the race, and I hope we will leave here tomorrow afternoon with a good result under our belts."

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager
"Both riders go into tomorrow's race confident in both their race set-up and their choice of race tyre and, as we've seen today, this combination of chassis, engine and tyres seems to work well here at Brno. It's unlikely that we'll make any further changes during warm-up tomorrow, but if we do then they'll only be very minor adjustments. Everyone has improved since last year, but I think that, at this track in particular, we've made the biggest improvement overall, putting us a lot closer to the front of the grid than we have been during the previous two seasons. After today's performance, I don't think we will think of Brno as a difficult track for Kawasaki again."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE - FINAL TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 1'56.191; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.250; 3. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.412; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.503; 5. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.579; 6. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.684; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.722; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.776; 9. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.948; 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.994

[mfzx6r]

Live on foxsports 6:45pm today

[red_dave]

Locked and Loaded...

[Nanna10r]

Frustrating as FARK watching Nakkers wave them buy then trail the main group to the line.
So whats the word ?, Is Randy gone for next year or what ?.

We need someone with motogp Experience with something to prove, There's no way we are going to get Rossi/Capirossi/Pedrossa so that leaves Heyden (if he doesnt win & yamaha dont want him or Maybe Melandri ? ) What you guys reckon ?;..

[Rusty]

My buy list would include Hopkins, Melandri and maybe Hayden.

I think Hopkins deserves a better bike than the Suzuki, but I doubt he'll change.

I think Melandri's not on too bad a wicket where he is.

Hayden? I was of the opinion at the beginning of the year that Repsol would ease him out, but he's done an excellent job sorting the RCV and been nicely consistent. Dunno.

One thing's for certain - Kawasaki needs more than Nakano.

[MadKaw]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
20 AUGUST 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO TAKES HARD FOUGHT EIGHTH PLACE AT BRNO

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano brought his Ninja ZX-RR home in a hard fought eighth place in today's Czech Grand Prix at Brno, to consolidate his tenth position in the World Championship Standings.

Nakano got a good start from the second row of the grid, but dropped down the order after getting his Ninja ZX-RR sideways while battling for position on the opening lap.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider was quick to rejoin the battle for fourth place, but was forced to ride on the limit and was unable to fight his way through to the front of the group.

After lapping consistently throughout the race, Nakano waited until the last lap before setting up Nicky Hayden for a pass, but as the Kawasaki rider positioned himself to overtake the current championship leader, Suzuki's John Hopkins managed to find space on the inside to pass both riders for seventh place.

Undeterred, Nakano set up Hayden again at the final turn, squeezing up the inside of the American to steal eighth place at the line.

Like his Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet also got a good start from the fourth row of the grid, but all his good work was undone in the first turn, when he went for the brakes too early and allowed four riders through, to leave himself down in 15th place.

The 25-year-old Frenchman quickly dispatched Alex Hofmann to move up one position, before chasing hard after the battle for tenth place. De Puniet managed to close onto the back of Chris Vermeulen, but was forced to back off without challenging for the position when the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR started to slide under power.

Although disappointed not to finish higher up the order at the chequered flag than 14th, de Puniet took some consolation from his consistent pace over the 22-lap race, and the fact that he now has one more race finish under his belt, in this, his debut MotoGP season.

The Kawasaki Racing Team will stay on at Brno for a development test on Monday, during which both riders will test and evaluate a range of chassis and suspension settings, as well as conducting tyre tests for Kawasaki's tyre partner, Bridgestone.

Shinya Nakano: 8th
"I got away from the start pretty well, but then I had a big slide halfway round the first lap, which lost me some time and dropped me to the back of the group fighting for fourth. While it was possible to match the pace of the guys in front of me, passing was a different matter. I was right on the limit just staying in touch, and with such a big group battling for position, it was difficult to even see a way past the riders in front. On the final lap I decided to have a go at Nicky Hayden but, as I lined myself up for the pass, John Hopkins charged up the inside of both of us to steal seventh place. I managed to get up the inside of Nicky going into the final corner and was able to hold on to the line to take eighth place, and the all-important championship points. Overall, although I would obviously have preferred to finish higher up the order, I'm happy enough with this result ahead of the overseas races."

Randy de Puniet: 14th
"A mistake going into the first turn cost me dear today. I got a reasonably good start, but then I got on the brakes too early going into the first turn and allowed too many people to come past me. I managed to find a way past Alex Hofmann and, by the mid-point of the race, I'd closed onto the battle between Chris Vermeulen and Toni Elias. At this point I thought it would be possible to pass both, but then, with just eight laps left to run, the rear tyre started sliding whenever I got hard on the gas out of the turns, and I was unable to maintain the same pace. Although I am disappointed with my finishing position today, it is good to have gained more experience on the Ninja ZX-RR, and I'm happy to have another race finish under my belt."

Harald Eckl: Team Principal
"Shinya's eighth place finish doesn't really do justice to his performance today. He managed to stay with the battle for fourth place for most of the race, and in different circumstances I think he could have finished fifth or sixth. Maybe he should have tried a move on the riders in front one or two times, but it's difficult to know whether this was even possible watching from the pit wall; only he can make that decision. But at the end, Shinya rode a good race, the bike and the tyres worked well, and I think we have to be satisfied with his result. Randy's mistake into the first turn really messed up his race. This is something we need to work on with Randy, and I hope that if we can help him improve in this area, he will then be able to realise his full potential and get the results that he deserves."

MOTOGP RACE RESULT - FINAL TIMES
1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 43'40.145; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +4.902; 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +8.012; 4. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +14.800; 5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +15.025; 6. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +15.699; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +16.775; 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +16.942; 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +17.061; 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP +23.978; 14. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +28.961

[Ment]

is it just me or did brno have the best looking brollie girls?
they were all just beautiful..

sigh..