SUPER SHINYA QUALIFIES FOURTH AT SEPANG
24 September 2005 - Kawasaki Racing

Kawasaki team leader, Shinya Nakano, rode his fastest-ever lap of the Sepang circuit today, with a superb effort to qualify fourth fastest for Sunday''s Malaysian Grand Prix.

This equalled Nakano''s best qualifying effort of the season so far - fourth on the grid for the Dutch TT at Assen in June. Nakano''s time of 2''02.178 undercut Valentino Rossi''s track record by 1.1 seconds.

Teammate, Olivier Jacque, a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann, will start from position thirteen on tomorrow''s grid.

Nakano made maximum use of the upgraded specification Ninja ZX-RR motor, and the latest generation of Bridgestone tyres, to position himself for a strong assault on tomorrow''s 21-lap race.

The new motor provides improved top end power and over-rev capability with smoother throttle connection.

Nakano was one of four riders in the top seven using Bridgestone tyres, whose rubber was used by Loris Capirossi to claim pole position. The final 15 minutes of the session were frantic, with Nakano going third fastest and then securing fourth on the grid with just three minutes remaining.

Jacque is making his first Grand Prix appearance for eight weeks - his last outing being July''s German Grand Prix - and has spent the two days of practice and qualifying building up to speed on this Ninja ZX-RR.

Jacque spent most of the session on race tyres, and admits that he is out practice in maximising the performance of the soft, one lap qualifying tyres that all riders use to set a fast time.

Jacque was a little disappointed because he was faster in the morning free practice session, when he was an impressive tenth fastest and just 0.5s off the best time.

For the race Jacque will continue to use the standard specification ZX-RR motor, while Nakano will race the latest power-up version for the first time.

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Fourth - 2''02.178
''I''m very happy, because this is a great motivation for the team after our problems at the Japanese Grand Prix last week. For the last five races I have not been able to qualify up front like I did at Assen and Jerez, so I''m very confident after this performance. The new Bridgestone tyres offer improved forward drive grip, which is important in the tighter corners here. And we now have good settings for the new motor, better top speed and more usable power delivery, so I can open the throttle earlier.''

Olivier Jacque: #19 - Thirteenth - 2''03.364
''That was a difficult session and I did not get the best performance from the qualifying tyre, it takes some practice to get this right, you only have one chance. Also I got a little confused with the set-up. I was comfortable in the morning session, but then tried a different rear-end setting before switching back to what I used in free practice. The bike felt better, but I had run out of time to do a faster lap.''

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
''This is a very good result after our disastrous performance in Japan last weekend. Shinya was again fantastic and OJ did a good job, it is not easy to get everything perfect after not racing for eight weeks. And Bridgestone have really stepped forward with tyre performance, I expect we can have a very strong race.''

QUALIFYING PRACTICE - FINAL TIMES
1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 2''01.731; 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +0.136; 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.286; 4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.447; 5. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.484; 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +0.646; 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.681; 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.688; 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +0.929; 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +1.074; 11. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda +1.282; 12. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda +1.479; 13. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.633

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