KAWASAKI TEAM STICKS TOGETHER AT THE SACHSENRING
30 July 2005 - Kawasaki Racing

Kawasaki''s trio of factory riders delivered a near perfect team performance in today''s qualifying session for tomorrow''s German Grand Prix.

Japanese rider Shinya Nakano led the Ninja ZX-RR charge by claiming position twelve on the third row of the grid, although he was hard pressed by teammates Alex Hofmann and Olivier Jacque.

German ace Hofmann, riding in his home race, was bidding to be the top Kawasaki rider, but just missed out by two hundredths of a second. He will start 13th at the head of the fourth row and, importantly, on the inside part of the track for the run to the tight first corner.

Hofmann had a satisfying day after working with his technical crew to improve front end feel, after he struggled in yesterday''s free practice.

Just 0.3s behind, from 14th on the grid, is Jacque, the Frenchman making a welcome return to the Kawasaki squad as a wild card for this race.

All riders had use of the latest tyres from Bridgestone today, including dual-compound rear tyres to handle the special demands of the Sachsenring.

Interestingly, the seven factory riders across three teams using Bridgestone tyres were grouped together on the grid, separated by just 0.6s from eighth to fourteenth positions.

Today''s set-up work included continuing evaluation of various engine configurations and chassis balance to handle the short, bumpy and rollercoaster layout of the Sachsenring.

Track conditions for qualifying were much cooler than for yesterday''s free practice after a torrential, overnight storm lashed the Sachsenring area.

It was sunny and warm today with a track temperature of 42 degrees, down from yesterday''s tropical 52 degrees.

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Twelfth - 1''23.382
''I expected a little more from qualifying, I thought at least the second row was possible, but I''m much happier than a week ago at Donington. I didn''t really have any problems and all the riders on Bridgestone qualifying tyres are grouped together; I think this is our level at the moment. The race set-up is consistent, but I will need a very good start here, it is very difficult to overtake.''

Alex Hofmann: #66 - Thirteenth - 1''23.405
''That''s more like it, a very satisfying day although I must admit my aim was to be the fastest Kawasaki rider. Yesterday I struggled but the team did a good job, we spent a lot of time focussing on the problems and analysing the set-up. From this morning the feedback from the front end was much better and I have a good pace. Thirty laps here is not going to be easy for us, but hopefully I can keep all my home fans happy tomorrow.''

Olivier Jacque: #19 - Fourteenth - 1''23.715
''I was much happier this afternoon than in morning practice, we went the wrong way on set-up but found the right direction for qualifying. I only had one run on a soft qualifying tyre but I did a lot of laps at a comfortable rhythm on race tyres. You need to be precise and have a relaxed set-up for this track, so I''m feeling positive for the race tomorrow.''

Ichiro Yoda: Technical Manager
''There was a big temperature difference from morning to afternoon when it was much hotter. This made tyre evaluation a little difficult, but it seems our race tyre options here will be competitive and consistent.''

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
''The Kawasaki squad is together on the grid, a strong team performance. But overall I was anticipating our bikes could be closer to the front given the layout of this track and the current ZX-RR package. We continue to work hard and improve, but clearly our competitors do the same, so we have to understand that this is a very tough level of racing. This is never an easy track, but Kawasaki has three riders capable of finishing in the top ten tomorrow and that is our goal.''

QUALIFYING PRACTICE - FINAL TIMES
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1''22.785; 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +0.104; 3. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda +0.147; 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.18; 5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +0.266; 6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda +0.269; 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.354; 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.389; 9. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.427; 10. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.511; 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.597; 13. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.620; 14. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.930

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