MotoGP 2005 - Round 11

The Kawasaki Racing Team returns to work after a four week summer holiday, with factory riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann fully refreshed for this weekend's Czech Republic Grand Prix.

The race, at the classic and fast 5.4 km Brno circuit, is the 11th round of the MotoGP World Championship. It is the first of a hectic schedule of races that will see seven events conducted in 11 weeks to close the season at Valencia on November 6.

Motivation is high in the Kawasaki squad, with Nakano eager to back-up his outstanding sixth place finish at last months German Grand Prix. For Hofmann, the restart of the season is an opportunity to show his full potential after a run of misfortune.

Both riders spent time with family and friends during the holiday break, a rare opportunity given the unrelenting travel demands of the MotoGP season.

Hofmann spilt his time between his home in Switzerland and chasing the summer sun by visiting his father who lives on the Costa Blanca in Spain.

And that meant an opportunity to keep up his fitness with regular outings on his high-performance Kawasaki jet ski - an 800c powered stand-up model.

Nakano was keen to maximise his three week holiday, and a welcome break away from racing, with time at home in Japan. He flew from Tokyo directly back into Prague enroute to Brno for this week's race.

Nakano is in a positive frame of mind, upbeat about continuing his string of impressive results - eight top ten positions out of ten races.

The 27-year-old Japanese rider believes that his recent sixth place at the Sachsenring, and the response of Bridgestone to his tyre requests, can be the platform for a strong second half of the season.

Nakano is targeting a visit to the podium before the final race at Valencia in November.

The Brno circuit, critical on front-end tyre and chassis performance with its fast chicanes and downhill curves, has a lap average speed of 163 kph (101 mph), making it a classic riders circuit.

Shinya Nakano: #56
"Brno is more a classic style of track, long and fast, not a computer model and I like it very much - it's very challenging for a rider. With the right set-up a rider can make a difference at Brno, I learnt this from my 250cc days, and the latest ZX-RR specification gives me a lot of confidence. Also Bridgestone made a strong step forward at the German GP especially with race distance tyre life. After the holidays it is like a new start and my aim is some more top five results, even the podium. Why not? I started the season with fifth at Jerez and I know the potential of the ZX-RR and the Bridgestone tyres are improving so that is my goal."

Alex Hofmann: #66
"I'm already in training for 2007 and the 800cc rules, that was my excuse for spending so much time on the jet ski! I also did a lot of mountain biking in Switzerland, so I'm ready to go for the final part of the season. My aims are simple; to show the full potential of myself and the ZX-RR and take it to the maximum. I had some strong expectations at the beginning of the season, but a lot of things happened that were out of my control. It's a fresh start now, I'm hungry for some better luck and strong results."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
"Brno is the start of a very busy period for the Kawasaki Racing Team and we are ready for the challenge of maintaining our third place in the Constructors' Championship. After the race the team will test for two days with the latest development parts from Japan and with our tyre partners Bridgestone. So that's a heavy, five day work load for our riders and technicians. While Shinya continues to show he is one of the fastest riders in the championship I'm hoping that the bad luck for Alex is now over, and he can show what he is capable of."

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