Le Mans May 12th, 2005 French Grand Prix Preview Party time for Olivier Jacque After the thrilling China Grand Prix on the futuristic Shanghai circuit, where Olivier Jacque stunned the audience with a sensational ride to second place in the rain, the MotoGP championship returns to familiar territory with the French Grand Prix in Le Mans this weekend. Constructed in 1965 and based on a once over 13 kilometre-long road track, the Bugatti circuit became legendary for its epic 24-hour races in both car and motorcycle categories. Apart from its awesome, fast right-hand bend following the short main straight with only 450 metres of length, the circuit features tight corners with sharp entries rather than long and sweeping bends, with stability under brakes and traction on corner exits being the main parameters for the bike set-up. The stop-and-go characteristics offer great spectator views from almost everywhere around the track, but only very few good opportunities to overtake. A good start and therefore a good starting grid position is crucial for the outcome of the race, turning the qualifying session in Le Mans always into a very special event. 31-year-old Olivier Jacque, who had only jumped in for injured German Kawasaki rider Alex Hofmann on short notice, will certainly take his chances at his home Grand Prix, which is expected to turn into a big party for the former 250 cc world champion. “The atmosphere will be fantastic, with all the fans boosting my motivation even more. Our performance is hard to predict, because the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR is still very new to me. But Kawasaki and my team give me a lot of confidence, and the Bridgestone tyres were impressive in Shanghai, both in dry and wet conditions”, says Jacque, who will be the only French MotoGP rider at this year’s Le Mans Grand Prix. Bridgestone is equally well prepared for the Le Mans event. 1000 tyres were shipped in for the race, with special specifications for improved traction on the track that had been re-surfaced prior to last year’s race, and with ample choice for the unpredictable weather conditions at this time of the year. Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “Shanghai was not a course we had much data on, but we were able confirm the good performance of our new rain tyres with a podium finish. Le Mans is also a track for which we don’t have so much data, as it was resurfaced before the race last year. But we hope to achieve good results as we did in Shanghai. The circuit has a typical stop-and-go character, so we have brought some new specs that should handle the need for good traction.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005 ROUND 4 – GRAND PRIX ALICE DE FRANCE, LE MANS 12 MAY 2005 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NAKANO AND JACQUE MEET THE FANS AT BEST WAY KAWASAKI More than 1000 Kawasaki fans greeted Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque, when the two riders arrived to officially open the new Best Way Kawasaki shop in Le Mans this morning. The new Best Way shop, which opened its doors just two days ago, is a purpose built facility offering the complete range of Kawasaki motorcycles, accessories and Kawasaki Racing Team merchandise. After posing for photographs on a number of Kawasaki ZX-10R road bikes painted as exact replicas of the Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machines they’ll race this weekend at Le Mans, Nakano and Jacque then sat down for a marathon autograph session. “The turn out was incredible; I couldn’t believe how many people were there on a Thursday morning,” commented Shinya Nakano. “The new shop is impressive. It was interesting to see so many Kawasaki motorcycles in one place and the number of people who turned up on race replica ZX-10R road bikes was fantastic. It was great to meet so many fellow Kawasaki riders ahead of this weekend’s race, and I hope they’ll all be in the stands cheering for us on Sunday.” “To meet the fans in such a relaxed atmosphere was a good experience, and it’s great to know that we have such strong support from our fellow Kawasaki riders,” said Olivier Jacque. “There were so many people there that I just hope we managed to sign autographs for everyone. Hopefully we’ll see some of the Kawasaki flags we signed being waved from the stands on Sunday.” To mark the occasion of their visit to the dealership, the staff at Best Way Kawasaki surprised the two Kawasaki riders as they prepared to return to the circuit, by presenting them with two race replica pocket bikes; one number 56 machine and one number 19 bike. “A big thanks to Best Way Kawasaki, not just for the pocket bikes they very kindly presented us with, but also for allowing us to meet the fans at such a well organised event. I look forward to returning next year,” added Nakano. Nakano and Jacque will get another chance to meet French Kawasaki fans at seven o’clock this evening, when they take part in an autograph session at the Place de la République in the centre of Le Mans.