From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:
PROTON TEAM KR CONCLUDE NINETEENTH YEAR IN SPAIN
Next Sunday’s Valencia GP brings to a close a dramatic 2004 season with a final race in front of Spain’s avid fans. New champions in all three classes will celebrate their success; the fourth in a row for racing superstar Valentino Rossi.
For independent racing manufacturers Proton Team KR, the last race of the year concludes their own 19th season as a private team in the top class of motorcycle racing. A year of difficulty, but also of progress and promise, for the England-built 990cc V5 MotoGP prototype, with its unique aero-space inspired chassis.
The progress has been clear in the recent flyaway races, four long-distance marathons over five weekends, in extreme conditions including punishing desert heat at Qatar. While other machines fell by the wayside, the maturing 2004 Proton KR V5s demonstrated impressive reliability, and continued a run of finishing in the points at two of the four events.
The promise comes from tests of a new Austrian-built KTM V4 engine in the super-accurate carved-from-solid Proton KR V5 chassis during the season. More tests are scheduled for November.
The team will be back to full strength for the first time since August, with the return of MotoGP rookie Kurtis Roberts. The son of team principal Kenny was injured in a practice crash at Brno, and missed the next five races while recuperating. His place was taken at the last three by British rider James Haydon; Kurtis will at last be fit enough to ride for the final round at Valencia.
“It will be good to have Kurtis back, especially at a track he is familiar with from pre-season testing. He’s been training and doing a lot of laps on motocross bikes back home in the USA to build up his strength and endurance. Now he feels ready to race again,” said team manager Chuck Aksland.
Regular team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki will be pushing hard as usual to try to add to his points score, in what may be the V5 Proton machine’s last race. Aoki has been with the project since the Mk1 machine was introduced after the start of the last season.
“Our engine shop has done a great job over the flyaway races, with the engines reliable, and they have found a little more horsepower,” continued Aksland.
“We will have all our best stuff at Valencia, and giving it our best shot to finish in the points again,” he said.
Valencia is the last of 16 rounds, and the fourth race this year on the Iberian peninsula, including two other Spanish races at Jerez and Catalunya, and the Portuguese GP at Estoril. Far from being sated, avid Spanish fans are expected to pack the grandstands of the tight and twisty stadium-style circuit.
NOBUATSU AOKI – ALL THE WAY TO THE END
It’s been a tough season, hard even to get in the points. But the team has worked so hard, and that motivates me always to try for the best possible result. Over the last race the bike is coming better, and the tyres. Valencia is quite a tough circuit for us, but I want to finish the year with more points for my team.
KURTIS ROBERTS – BACK FOR THE BEST
It’s been such a long time, and I want to get back on a racing bike. My wrist took longer than I expected to get healed and strong, and I’d hoped to be back earlier. While I’ve been away there’s definitely been progress with the team. I hope this will be my best race of the year.