MotoGP 2005 - Round 3

Shinya Nakano will start his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR from tenth place, on the fourth row of the grid in tomorrow's history-making Chinese Grand Prix.

The always competitive Japanese ace was frustrated by a couple of small mistakes on his qualifying lap, but is confident of his pace for the 22-lap race.

French rider, Olivier Jacque, continues his impressive debut with the Kawasaki factory team and today qualified 15th, despite having his first experience of the latest soft compound Bridgestone qualifying tyres.

Jacque is racing here and in his home race, the French Grand Prix at Le Mans in two weeks, as a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann.

While admitting he felt the pressure of the new, single-session MotoGP qualifying format, after a long absence from the series, Jacque delivered a fast and consistent performance.

The 31-year-old Frenchman was briefly as high as 12th while, with four minutes remaining, Nakano surged to sixth before slipping to tenth in a late flurry of fast times.

Nakano is just one of five riders using Bridgestone tyres to qualify in the top ten.

Kawasaki engineers will assess the data collected over the past two days of practice and qualifying to improve the engine brake settings on the new ZX-RR motor.

Technical Director, Ichiro Yoda, says that more time is required to fully understand its character, especially at new circuits like the 5.4 km Shanghai track, which features three first gear corners.

Conditions were warm but humid and overcast for qualifying, with threatened rain holding off for a session that saw lap times drop dramatically from Friday's free practice.

Similar conditions are forecast for tomorrow's first-ever MotoGP event to be staged in China at the Shanghai circuit.

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Tenth - (2'01.098) - "The fourth row of the grid is not the best position for the race. I made a couple of mistakes on my qualifying lap; I braked too hard at the end of the straight and then lost the rear-end with some slides in the hairpin. But I have collected a lot of tyre data, so I hope it is hot and dry for the race, because I think I have a good tyre option from Bridgestone. On the bike we need to adjust the engine brake settings, I'm not comfortable with it at the moment. The track is okay, it is tight in parts but I'm getting used to it."

Olivier Jacque: #19 - Fifteenth - (2'02.072) - "It was a big surprise for me to experience the incredible grip levels and performance of the latest soft qualifying tyres, which have improved dramatically since the last time I raced in Grand Prix. Getting the best from a qualifier is all about confidence, so I was under a lot of pressure in this session. I don't think I got the maximum from the soft tyre, but I'm happy with the chassis balance and engine for the race. With three first gear, and some long, slow corners this is not a very fluid track for MotoGP bikes; it is not easy to get a lot a pleasure from this layout."

Ichiro Yoda: Technical Director - "We need more time, especially to find the correct engine brake settings. In some corners the braking force is too strong, but we have only had this new engine for three months and we are still trying to understand all the data. For the race it seems we now have a very good tyre option, both front and rear, from Bridgestone, so I'm not so worried about that."

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