NAKANO AND JACQUE SHINE IN WET CONDITIONS AT SEPANG
23 September 2005 - Kawasaki Racing

Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque, were the stars of a rain-hit afternoon free practice session at the Sepang circuit today.

Nakano set the third fastest time on a drying track late in the session, with Jacque in sixth place. Kawasaki was the only team with two riders in the top six in the difficult and slippery afternoon conditions.

As tropical rain showers swept across the circuit, Nakano concentrated on testing the new configuration Ninja ZX-RR motor, which is again being evaluated at Sepang. In wet conditions the latest motor is Nakano''s preferred option, offering more flexibility on the over-rev with the predominance of second and third gear sections.

Nakano''s programme included back-to-back running with the standard specification motor, and that will continue in tomorrow''s two hours of free practice and qualifying in advance of Sunday''s race.

The afternoon rain was a blessing in disguise for wet-track ace Jacque, who is replacing the injured Alex Hofmann for the Malaysian and Qatar races.

Jacque tested the full range of Bridgestone wet tyres, staying out on wets throughout the session and posting the sixth fastest time.

However, the French rider admits he needs more dry track running as he prepares to make his first race appearance since the German Grand Prix in July.

Both Nakano and Jacque were comfortable with their dry set-ups in the morning free practice session and finished the day 12th and 16th overall on combined times.

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Twelfth - 2''04.560
''I had a very good feeling with the rain tyres in the afternoon session. And the response of the new motor was positive, especially on the over-rev, which enabled me to hold gears at important parts of the circuit. Now I just need to confirm the performance of the new motor in dry conditions; hopefully tomorrow. At the end of the session I switched to a rear slick tyre and a cut slick at the front and I had a very fast lap until the final corner - the track was still full wet! I lost about one second. Overall I''m confident in either wet or dry conditions.''

Olivier Jacque: #19 - Sixteenth - 2''06.335
''I''m not sure if I was lucky or unlucky. I wanted a dry track in the afternoon because I need time on the bike without rain to get up to speed. But then it rained, so I went for it and I had a comfortable feeling late in the session when the track was half wet and half dry. Tyre choice is difficult in these conditions, but I stayed out on full wets. Earlier in the session I had a lot of rear wheelspin and wasn''t so confident, but it improved later in the session. In the morning session I wasn''t expecting to be so fast in the dry, so that gave me a good feeling. I just need more dry track time.''

Ichiro Yoda: Technical Manager
''I am satisfied with our performance in rain conditions, we are ready for a wet race. Now we have to concentrate on our dry set-up, especially to confirm the performance of the new specification engine. Shinya was happy with the wet track performance of the new motor, so this should translate well to dry conditions. Bridgestone have done some excellent work, they have three different compound wet pattern tyres here, using the latest construction. OJ used the standard specification motor today.''

FREE PRACTICE - COMBINED TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP 2''03.299; 2. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.136; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.178; 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.186; 5. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda +0.325; 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.489; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.547; 8. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda +0.652; 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.755; 10. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda +0.799; 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +0.921; 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.261; 16. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +3.036

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