Capirossi and Nakano fight it out
15/05/2005
Ducati rider Carlos Checa and Suzuki’s young hero John Hopkins ran into bad luck in today’s French Grand Prix. Checa had a fantastic start from the third row of the grid, and rocketed into third place before the chicane, only to be taken out at the end of the first corner combination in a collision with Max Biaggi. Hopkins on the other side suffered mechanical problems on the starting grid and was forced to pull in and change the bike. After that, the Californian rode a lonely yet determined race to 16th place.
In the meantime, the spectators saw a thrilling performance from Checa’s Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi. The fearless Italian held third place ahead of world champion Valentino Rossi for the first five laps. Capirossi then paid tribute to a medium rear tyre choice, and slowly dropped back within the leading pack. Seventh from mid-race on, Capirossi was able to defend his position to hard-charging Shinya Nakano aboard Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR. The Japanese ace seemed set to beat Capirossi in the end, but eventually settled for a safe eighth.
Qualifying on the 4.180 kilometre Bugatti circuit had been very promising, with Shinya Nakano and John Hopkins fastest Bridgestone riders in sixth and seventh place. Bridgestone’s strong performance was further confirmed in the warm-up on Sunday morning, when Carlos Checa and John Hopkins took first and second place, and Kenny Roberts rode to fourth in overcast and cool conditions. Bridgestone was equally well prepared for wet conditions, with a brand new compound for heavy rain and cool temperatures, and also with the same rain tyre type that had shown supreme grip and traction levels in China two weeks ago. The qualities of this tyre type were confirmed in the wet free practice session on Saturday morning, with four of the six Bridgestone riders – Checa, Capirossi, Jacque and Nakano – classified within the top eight positions.
Loris Capirossi - Ducati Marlboro Team- 7th position
“I am happy with our progress, podium finishes are now within reach for our bike. Finding the right tyre for this race was another story, due to the ever-changing weather conditions on all three days here in Le Mans. Eventually, I chose a different rear tyre to my team-mate Carlos Checa, and maybe his harder compound would have been ideal, because I started to slide a lot after ten laps. But never mind, our working relationship with Bridgestone has only started recently, and we’ve already made significant steps into the right direction. We are on track, but it just takes time. With more and more experience, our package will improve further!”
Shinya Nakano – Kawasaki Racing Team – 8th position
“I had a good start and enjoyed myself. The bike was working well, and tyre grip was good and consistent. I was able to catch up with Capirossi and thought of mounting an attack, when in the middle of the race an engine problem developed. It felt like some misfire, or as if one of the cylinders was cutting out. I thought the bike was going to stop, so I just tried to bring it home safely, thinking that some points were better than none. I guess I was lucky to see the chequered flag!”
Junichi Kawajiri – Manager Motorcycle Racing Tyre Developement – Bridgestone
“2 top ten finishes with Loris and Shinya is very positive, so thanks to them and their team for a gutsy performance. It was unfortunate for Carlos to get into an accident on the first lap because he had very good lap times on race tyres during practice sessions, but that’s racing. Overall performace of our tyres today were a bit below our expectations, so we will bring these back to Japan for some analysis work. Now we look forward to Mugello and start preparation for the next race.!”
Bridgestone Results:
7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 44.36,887, 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 44.48,163, 11. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 45.05,525, 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, 45.12,737, 16. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 44.50,726. Did not finish: Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati