4.5 sec off the Leader - A Special 6th Place for S. Nakano
31/07/2005
The new Bridgestone tyre made a difference for Kawasaki star Shinya Nakano, who rode to a brilliant sixth place in today’s action-packed German Grand Prix, with a gap of only 4.557 seconds on race winner Valentino Rossi.
Following intense analysis of all available data and the requests of Kawasaki Racing Team, Bridgestone came up with new rear tyres, with new compounds for improved side-grip and traction for the Sachsenring with its unique layout of long and mainly left-hand turns. After qualifying in 12th position, the real strength of this tyre started to show in the decisive second part of the race, when Nakano overtook Ducati star Loris Capirossi to take sixth place, and to defend this position amidst a pack of hard-charging Honda riders.
Not so lucky were his team-mates Alex Hofmann and Olivier Jacque. After being squeezed into one garage with three riders and six machines throughout the weekend, the pair ran out of space one more time in the first corner of the race, when Jacque ran into Hofmann to take both of them out.
Havoc continued for the Bridgestone line-up of seven riders on the Sachsenring, when Suzuki rider John Hopkins suffered a high-side crash on lap six of the race. The American came down hard on the track, but even though he eventually walked away unharmed, the race was red-flagged and re-started with 22 laps to go.
Ducati rider Carlos Checa crashed soon after the second start, leaving his team-mate Capirossi in ninth position, and Suzuki’s former world champion Kenny Roberts in 11th place as the only other Bridgestone riders besides Nakano to finish the race.
Shinya Nakano - Kawasaki Racing Team - 6th position
“My bike and the new tyres that Bridgestone prepared for this race worked very well today. I was able to go at a fast and consistent pace, and I felt very comfortable at that speed. I managed to overtake Loris Capirossi and then chased the front group of riders – racing is good fun when you see the top guys, and when you’re actually able to stay with them. Towards the end of the race, I had a few front end slides and couldn’t attack any more. But even though, we made a big step forward, which boosts all of our confidence for the races to come!”
Tohru Ubukata - Manager - Motorcycle Racing Tyre Development - Bridgestone Motorsport
“A special thanks to Shinya Nakano and Kawasaki Racing Team for a superb race! They did an amazing job setting up the bike, and 6th place is a fantastic finish when you are only 4.5 seconds behind the top finisher Valentino Rossi. The new tyres we brought here to the Sachsenring has shown its potential and we are happy about the advances we have made through these last 10 races. However, there are still some things we need to improve, since not all our riders had such a race, we need to analyze the reasons behind this difference and make adjustments. The Ducati bikes were very strong in practice so we were all expecting better results, but we confirmed a good improvement with the package so I am confident the results will follow after the summer break. Suzuki’s John Hopkins rode courageously despite the pain and it’s great to see that even after the crash he was OK. We will go back to Tokyo now and make the best use of this holiday away from racing, our tyre development neverstops going! ”
Bridgestone Results:
6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 35.08,991, 9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 35.27,923, 11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, 35.46,533, DNF: AlexHofmann (GER) Kawasaki, Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, Carlos Checa (E) Ducati, John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki