PERFECT WEATHER FOR RECORD BREAKING DAY AT BARCELONA
18 March 2005 - Kawasaki Racing

The three-day IRTA test opened at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today with glorious spring weather producing near perfect track conditions.

Kawasaki ZX-RR riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann made the most of clear sunny skies and 30 degree track temperatures to post impressive lap times that were personal best performances at this track.

Nakano was more than a second under his previous best race lap, while Hofmann was 1.7s seconds quicker than in the Catalunya GP last year.

Nakano and Hofmann were just two of 15 riders under the current track record held by Sete Gibernau.

The dramatic drop in lap times reflects the continuing progress in machine and tyre development and the fact that the 4.7 km Circuit de Catalunya was completely resurfaced over the winter break.

Nakano and Hofmann have been joined by Japanese test rider Kazuki Shimizu at the Barcelona test.

Nakano and Shimizu are concentrating on evaluating the big bang version of Kawasaki''s 990cc, in-line four cylinder motor. Meanwhile Hofmann''s ZX-RR continues to run with last year''s screamer engine configuration.

Hofmann will be supplied with big bang motors for next week''s IRTA test in Jerez.

Today Hofmann concentrated on chassis and tyre testing including evaluation of swinging arm and weight distribution set-ups.

Evaluation of a range of new Bridgestone tyres, both front and rear, is also part of the three-day test program.

Shinya Nakano #56 - 77 laps (1''44.325)
''Today I was able to confirm my preference of big-bang engine specification, at least for the first two races. I prefer the earlier of the two versions, which gives me more control and feeling on the throttle, although we still have some work to do on fine-tuning the engine braking system. Even though I''m a second faster than my best race lap here it is not enough, because everyone else is going faster.''

Alex Hofmann #66 - 77 laps (1''44.546)
''The new track surface is generally much smoother, although in some places the work has moved the bumps from one part of the track to another. I tried a couple of versions of the 2005 chassis, with different stiffness, and some new rear tyres from Bridgestone. The new track surface appears to have changed wear rates on the tyres so this will be an important part of testing over the weekend. I''m a racer and would prefer to have some track time with the big bang motor but that is not an option with limited supply and I must respect Kawasaki''s decision for Shinya to do that part of the testing.''

Ichiro Yoda - Technical Director
''We have two different versions of the big bang motor here with different firing orders, and Shinya and Kazuki compared those today. From this we have confirmed the configuration we will use for the opening two GPs in Jerez and Estoril. Shinya prefers the earlier version of the big bang, it gives him more control, and this will be the motor that both Shinya and Alex will use in the opening races. We will continue further development and revise that decision after the first two events''

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