CONFIDENCE HIGH AS KAWASAKI HEAD FOR MUGELLO Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet, arrive in Mugello for this weekend’s Gran Premio d’Italia Alice determined to put the disappointment of Le Mans behind them. Although de Puniet’s race ended at the first corner in Le Mans, where he was the innocent victim in a chain reaction started by Valentino Rossi’s overtaking manoeuvre on the entry to the new chicane, the 25-year-old Frenchman heads to Mugello full of confidence after an impressive performance during practice and qualifying for his home Grand Prix. De Puniet suffered some ligament damage to his back in the Le Mans crash, but returns to racing at Mugello fully fit, after undergoing treatment on the injury in Paris immediately after the French Grand Prix. For Shinya Nakano the Italian Grand Prix has proved a difficult race in the past. The fastest crash ever recorded in MotoGP two years ago was followed by a hard fought tenth place in the race last year, but Nakano arrives this time around confident that the new Ninja ZX-RR will be better suited to the 5.245km, ultra-fast Mugello circuit. Nakano will be aided in his quest for a strong performance in Sunday’s 23-lap Gran Premio d’Italia Alice by a new fairing on his Ninja ZX-RR, designed specifically to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of Kawasaki’s MotoGP machine. Designed by Kawasaki engineers in Japan, in conjunction with the same Institute of Technology involved with aerodynamic development of both aircraft and the famous Japanese bullet train, Sinkansen, the new fairing should offer some advantage along Mugello’s 1100 metre main straight, where aerodynamic efficiency can have a big impact on top speed. Randy de Puniet: #17 “I remember nothing about the Le Mans crash, but it was very disappointing not to finish in my home Grand Prix. I suffered some ligament damage in my back, but this is now okay and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike at Mugello. Despite the crash at Le Mans I am confident ahead of this weekend’s race. In France we made some big steps with the bike, as could be seen by my lap times in practice and qualifying, and I hope that we can continue at the same level this weekend in Italy. I like the Mugello circuit a lot, and I think we can put in a good performance here this weekend.” Shinya Nakano: #56 “In the past this has been a difficult race for us, but the same can be said of Le Mans, and I think our practice and qualifying performance in France shows that the new Ninja ZX-RR is a definite improvement over the old. For this reason I think we arrive in Mugello with more confidence of a good result that in previous years. Mugello is a real high-speed circuit, where braking points are critical to a fast lap, but you also need to find a good rhythm around the fast turns here. If you find a good set-up during practice and qualifying then racing here is really enjoyable. But, if you fail to find a set-up you’re comfortable with then you know that Sunday’s race will be real hard work! We will run a new fairing on our Ninja ZX-RR machines this weekend, which should offer some advantage along Mugello’s long main straight, where outright top speed is important.”