MotoGP 2005

The MotoGP season resumed at Brno today, with a super-competitive opening day of practice ahead of Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix.

Kawasaki riders, Alex Hofmann and Shinya Nakano, were in the thick of the action and finished the day 12th and 14th respectively on the time sheets. Fourteen riders were within one second of the fastest lap set by Valentino Rossi.

It was a day of intense work for Nakano and Hofmann, combining the challenging task of finding speed for the front-end sensitive Brno circuit and tyre test duties for Bridgestone.

There are a range of evolution rear tyres at Brno, combining revised compounds and constructions, with the aim of improved edge grip and race consistency.

Nakano and Hofmann were enthused to be back on their Ninja ZX-RR machines after the holiday break and made dramatic improvements to their lap times between the morning and afternoon sessions.

Both riders suffered from a lack of front end feel and tyre response especially through the fast chicanes and turn one.

Revisions to front spring balance and chassis geometry proved to be the right direction, and further changes are expected to provide a more precise set-up for Sunday's 22-lap race.

Nakano improved his time by 1.3s between morning and afternoon sessions, while Hofmann went 0.7s faster.

The notorious Brno bumps are also proving to be a set-up challenge, especially in the fast corners.

Alex Hofmann: #66 - Twelfth - 2'00.146 - "It's great to be back riding and I found some good speed this afternoon, although I'm struggling through the first section of the lap, especially turn one. The front set-up is not perfect and I'm not completely confident of the front feeling, especially as you come off the brakes and turn-in. The track is getting old, like everyone I guess, and there seem to be more patches and bumps than last year. Even so I enjoy Brno and I think we can find an even better balance tomorrow."

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Fourteenth - 2'00.227 - "I was happy to be back on the bike, but not very comfortable in the morning session - I couldn't feel the grip level at the front end. But I had better front contact response in the afternoon, although we are still not at 100% with the bike. I need better settings for the high-speed changes of direction and perhaps the bumps, worse than last year, are also making the bike unsettled. Even so, the times are close and I think that by Sunday I will have a chance for a good result."

Ichiro Yoda: Technical Manager - "Both riders had a problem with front feeling and grip today, more a set-up problem than tyres. This track requires very agile handling for the fast changes of direction and that perhaps is a weak point for us at the moment. But, we have some set-up ideas for tomorrow, both for the chassis and mid-range engine response, and will continue to improve. We also have a lot of work to do to fully evaluate the new Bridgestone tyres."

Search the site - Late Braking News - Forum

Bike Tests - Features - Wallpaper - Race Calendar

MCNEWS.COM.AU