MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005 ROUND 5 – GAULOISES DUTCH TT, ASSEN 17 JUNE 2005 – EVENT PREVIEW KAWASAKI PAIR CONFIDENT AHEAD OF DUTCH TT Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann will be part of the 75th anniversary celebrations for the Dutch TT at Assen (June 23-25). The Dutch TT holds a unique place in the world of motorcycling and is the only Grand Prix that has continuously counted towards the FIM World Championship since inception in 1949. The race has some firmly entrenched traditions. It is always held on the last Saturday in June and much of the current racetrack was part of the original circuit formed on narrow public roads south of the Assen township. Once 16 km in length, the original road course has undergone constant changes and safety upgrades, including some for this year’s 75th Dutch TT. For 2005 the circuit length has been reduced by 30 metres to 5.997 km and given favourable weather this should lead to new qualifying and race records. However the most noticeable change is one that will benefit spectators who travel from around the world for the special atmosphere of the Dutch TT. The new Geert Timmer ‘floating’ grandstand will be in use for the first time. The stand offers not only panoramic views of the circuit but has allowed the expansion of run-off areas to improve safety. The current investment in circuit upgrades has ensured Assen has a long-term future as part of the MotoGP World Championship with a contract renewal until 2016, recently agreed with championship organisers Dorna. And following the latest performance upgrades to the Ninja ZX-RR both Nakano and Hofmann are looking forward to strong performances at Assen this year. Hofmann, from Germany, will again have the support of a large contingent of travelling fans at Assen. Nakano qualified an impressive fifth fastest in 2004. Since then the ZX-RR motor has undergone a major revision with further upgrades, both mechanical and electronic, for evaluation at Assen Both factory Kawasaki riders anticipate the current specification ZX-RR will be more suited to the unique layout of Assen with its constant sequence of high-speed corners and fast changes of direction under acceleration. Nakano in particular came away from the previous race in Barcelona in a positive frame of mind in terms of bike performance, despite the tyre endurance problems that hampered his race performance. Joining the Kawasaki Racing Team as a sponsor for the first time at Assen will be e-services company, Trinicom. Trinicom is the European leader in Web Self Service, Email response and Agent support software. Shinya Nakano: #56 “Assen is a real challenge, especially the fast section at the start of the lap. You need good traction and high-speed handling plus exact racing lines to achieve maximum performance. I expect the latest profile Bridgestone tyres will help with steering response on the ZX-RR in the fast sections. Because it is not possible to test at Assen I will use the first practice day to check braking points and corner lines, plus collect set-up data. I think we have a good technical direction with the ZX-RR right now, I saw a positive comparison when I was able to follow Colin Edwards early in the race at Barcelona.” Alex Hofmann: #66 “Hopefully Assen will kick start my season after some bad luck recently. The Dutch TT is a good motivation for me because it is like a second home race, the organisers say about 40% of the spectators are from Germany. It’s a fast, roller-coaster style of track and one of my favourites. I think I’m ready for anything at Assen, especially if it rains as it often does. Our test in Barcelona was wet so I got to try the latest Bridgestone wet tyres, which were very good, plus I felt comfortable using the ZX-RR motor with revised configuration and tuning.”