Second place in China: Olivier Jacque's magic come back
01/05/2005
When Olivier Jacque jumped in on short notice to replace injured German Kawasaki rider Alex Hofmann, the Grand Prix of China was planned just as a practice run. But when rain set in on race day, the traction of Kawasaki’s new big bang engine, the grip of Bridgestone’s new rain tyre generation and Jacque’s supreme talent in wet conditions made for an irresistible combination. With a thrilling ride and top speeds up to 325 kph, the 31-year-old Frenchman stormed from eleventh place after the start to a magic second place in the end, passing superstars like Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau with ease. Jacque, who had not been on a racing bike in seven months, even started to close in on race leader Valentino Rossi, and just ran out of time to mount an attack on the World Champion.
Suzuki star Kenny Roberts, who had put in the best time of all 21 MotoGP riders in dry conditions on Friday afternoon, also seemed to be set for success. The 31-year-old Californian took the lead right from the start and dominated the race for the opening four laps, but was then forced to retire with engine problems. Olivier Jacque’s Kawasaki team-mate Shinya Nakano suffered a similar fate on his 100th Grand Prix, when one cylinder stopped after one lap.
John Hopkins, team-mate of Kenny Roberts at Suzuki Racing, finished in a strong seventh position despite running through the gravel bed. Ducati rider Loris Capirossi, who had achieved his first front row starting position of the year, dropped back to twelfth place. Carlos Checa, who was seventh in practice, crashed out of the race
Yutaka Yamaguchi - Director of Tyre Development
"The new generation of rain tyres we have developed for MotoGP proved its strength here in Shanghai. Our development team worked very hard, so congratulations to them, and also to Kawasaki Racing Team and Olivier Jacque who did a tremendous job providing all of us with a thrilling podium finish. Although there is still much work to be done, we are happy to celebrate our first podium of this season!"
Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing Team - 2nd position
“Right from the start, I saw that I could go faster than the others, and it was no problem to settle into a good and comfortable rhythm. When I had passed Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau, I saw another blue bike ahead and even thought of winning for a while. But Valentino had a good gap, and was controlling the race very well, so I decided to settle for second and be happy with it. My bike and the Bridgestone tyres made for a great combination today. We definitely had great corner speed, and I could ride at 100 per cent all the way. My only problem was that my visor fogged up, and in the corners, I had to turn my head and try to peek out with one eye. That’s when I made a mistake behind Sete, and took longer than expected to pass him. But other than that, I felt likea fish in water. Now I can’t wait to get to Le Mans - after this success, the atmosphere at the French Grand Prix will be incredible!”
Hiroshi Yamada - Motorcycle Racing Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport
“We are very, very happy about our first podium of the season - congratulations and thanks to Kawasaki and Olivier Jacque, they did a brilliant job. After qualifying, we were quite confident for dry conditions, but didn’t really know where we stood with our rain tyres. We put a lot of effort into developing new rain tyres for this season, but haven’t had enough opportunities to really test them. It’s great that we were able to show our rain tyre performance today. Kenny Roberts was also very fast, and would have deserved a good result. Olivier Jacque’s ride was just incredible!”
Harald Eckl - Kawasaki Racing Team Manager
“We hit the jackpot today, with an ideal combination of just the right amount of water, of a good set-up of our big bang engine, the right tyres and of course with Olivier’s talent in rainy conditions. It was impressive to see how much traction he had, thanks to Bridgestone and thanks to the double-twin configuration of our engine. Now, the French Grand Prix will be madness!”
Bridgestone Results:
2. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 50.02,463, 7. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 50.28,346, 12. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 50.46,864; Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati (did not finish)