From a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

FUCHS KAWASAKI TEAM IN HIGH SPIRITS FOR BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Less than a week after their best-ever team result, Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, are eager to carry that momentum into the second half of the MotoGP season.

This Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Donington Park is the ninth race of the 16 event World Championship.

It is a timely turning point for Nakano and Hofmann, both of whom are ready to reinforce the performance potential of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR with a continuation of top ten results.

Last Sunday’s German GP ended on a high note, with Nakano and Hofmann putting in impressive performances to finish seventh and tenth respectively, after a brilliant team effort to pull back from mechanical problems in practice and qualifying.

Refining the tuning of revised fuel injection and engine management set-up continues to be a priority for Fuchs Kawasaki engineers.

The German GP best-so-far team result has boosted spirits within the factory Kawasaki squad, which is still to celebrate the second anniversary of their participation in the MotoGP class.

This week 24-year-old German racer Hofmann returns to Donington after a break of two years. His last appearance was in 2002 as a rookie replacement for Loris Capirossi aboard a 500cc two-stroke. He finished a creditable 17th in that race.

Meanwhile the ever-smiling Nakano, 26, has been a regular top ten finisher in the British GP, with a best result of sixth in 2001 when he also qualified on the front row of the grid.

Famous in the 1930’s for staging major car and motorcycle events, Donington Park has been the home of the British Grand Prix since the race moved from Silverstone in 1987.

The four kilometre circuit is one of dramatic contrast. From turn one at the Redgate pub, the track flows into the Craner Curves, a series of fast and challenging downhill corners. Following in quick succession are some of the most famous sections of track in GP racing – The Old Hairpin; Schwantz Curve; McLeans and then the tricky third-gear Coppice Corner that leads onto the back straight.

Then the track gets much slower, with the stop-go Melbourne Loop and two first gear corners; a complex that both Nakano and Hofmann, like most of their GP colleagues, regard with little affection.

Organisers are anticipating a near sell-out crowd as British fans respond to the increasing popularity of MotoGP racing in the 990cc four-stroke era.

Shinya Nakano: #56
“Donington is a technical track and very difficult. However, I think the Ninja ZX-RR will perform strongly, especially in the first half of the lap. My best result so far this season is sixth, so I will be hoping to change that this weekend – although in the past I have never really found the perfect feeling with this track. This week I have to forget about the problems of the German GP and look forwards. Kawasaki in Japan has already started to respond to the technical feedback from Sachsenring and, with Bridgestone planning to bring some different tyres for Donington, I’m hopeful of a very competitive weekend.”

Alex Hofmann: #66
“I haven’t been to Donington for a couple of years, and the last time was on a 500cc two-stroke. It will be an interesting experience with the 990cc Ninja ZX-RR, as we have no idea how the bike will suit the Donington circuit. Donington is definitely a two part track, and I think the first section will suit our bike better than the stop-go part at the end of the lap. I much prefer the faster corners as a rider, but you still have put the whole lap together and that’s what I’ll be aiming to do. The German GP was just about solving our problems and then getting through the race, which was the best part of the weekend for us. Hopefully we can carry the momentum from race day at Sachsenring into first practice at Donington, and move forward from there.”