From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM BRNO TEST

DEVELOPMENT WORK CONTINUES FOR KAWASAKI AT BRNO

Less than 24 hours after finishing in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, Fuchs Kawasaki’s trio of riders were back in action at the Brno circuit, during the first day of a two-day Dunlop tyre test.

As part of their ongoing test and development programme, Dunlop arrived at the Brno circuit with new tyres, sporting a number of different compounds, profiles and constructions, for Andrew Pitt, Garry McCoy and Alex Hofmann to evaluate on both the front and rear of their Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machines.

While the main focus of today’s test was tyre evaluation, the development of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR has also continued apace, with different frame and swinging arm combinations tested to identify a standard set-up that all three riders are able to superimpose their own settings upon. This standardisation process will also benefit the tyre testing programme, as data collected on the performance of the tyres from one rider is now relevant to the others.

Having completed his schedule today, Andrew Pitt will leave tomorrow’s testing duties to his Fuchs Kawasaki team-mates, Garry McCoy and Alex Hofmann.

Andrew Pitt:
“We concentrated solely on tyre testing today and, after trying ten new rears in the bike, we’ve identified two that seem to offer slightly better and more consistent grip compared to the tyre I ran in the race yesterday, which itself was a definite improvement over what’s gone before. Although short, today’s test has allowed us time to evaluate the new tyres prior to the next race at Estoril, as well as providing Dunlop with even more data with which to continue their development programme. So, overall, it’s been a pretty worthwhile day.”

Garry McCoy:
“Andrew’s bike is working well, so he’s done most of the planned tyre testing today, while we’ve worked on the set-up of my bike to try and eliminate the chatter that caused us so many problems during practice and qualifying here. We also tested a different length swinging arm to see what effect that would have on the bike and, overall, it was pretty positive, although it hasn’t really had a noticeable effect on my lap times. We did test a couple of new rear tyres as well, but they didn’t seem to offer any advantages over the tyre we used in the race yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get the chance to test the rest of the new rear tyres that the Dunlop boys have brought along with them.”

Alex Hofmann:
“I’ve not been happy with the set-up of my bike all weekend, so we decided to work on improving things with the bike before starting the tyre test proper. We’ve made a few changes to the forks which have improved my confidence in the front of the bike, but I think we need to make some fundamental changes to the rear if we are to see an improvement in that area tomorrow. Hopefully we can get things sorted tonight so that I can get on with the job of testing tyres tomorrow.”

Hamish Jamieson – Technical Director
“We’ve achieved most of what we set out to do today. Andrew worked his way through his part of the tyre test and had positive comments about two of the tyres he tried, which is good for both him and Dunlop. Garry tested a different swinging arm and reported an improvement in grip from the rear, so that’s pretty positive also. Alex struggled all weekend with set-up, but is now a lot happier with the front of the bike and just needs to make the same improvement at the rear. I’m confident we can get things sorted out pretty quickly; leaving him to concentrate solely on the tyre testing programme we have planned for tomorrow.”