KAWASAKI CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT AT LE MANS TEST Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque today returned to Le Mans, scene of yesterday’s French Grand Prix, to continue development work on the Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine. Nakano, who finished eighth in yesterday’s race, started his test schedule working with Kawasaki’s tyre partner Bridgestone. The 27-year-old Japanese rider tried two new generation rear tyres, with positive results. In the afternoon session Nakano worked with his crew to refine the set up of his Ninja ZX-RR, modifying engine brake settings and front suspension to increase stability under braking in preparation for the demanding Mugello circuit, which plays host to the next round of the MotoGP World Championship in two weeks time. Inclement weather in Shanghai and Le Mans means that Jacque has had more experience riding in the wet than in the dry since being drafted into the Kawasaki Racing Team as a temporary replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann. This left the 31-year-old Frenchman with little time to optimise the dry set up of his Ninja ZX-RR for yesterday’s French Grand Prix, in which he finished in a creditable eleventh place. Changes to the chassis and suspension settings today made it easier for Jacque to change direction on the bike, while tweaks to the electronics package led to improvements on corner entry and exit. Together, the changes allowed Jacque to circulate the Le Mans circuit a full second faster than he managed in yesterday’s race. Today’s test marks the end of Jacque’s official commitment to Kawasaki, although there is a chance that the former 250cc World Champion could continue in a development role with the factory, and the possibility of a wild card ride in the future cannot be ruled out. Shinya Nakano: #56 (58 laps – 1’34.74) “This morning we tested a new rear tyre from Bridgestone, which improved the overall handling of the bike and will probably be our choice for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, where it’s important to have a bike which is easy to hustle through the chicanes. We also tried some different settings on the engine management system, which together with some changes to the front forks led to an increase in stability under braking. This is also important for Mugello. Overall, it’s been a successful test.” Olivier Jacque: #19 (50 laps – 1’34.89) “For me this was really my first opportunity to ride the bike for a full day in the dry without the pressure of having to chase a fast lap all the time. If you like, this was the pre-season testing I didn’t get the chance to do before I raced in China and France. We set the plan for today’s test after the race and we’ve made some significant improvements to the set up of the chassis, the engine brake settings and also the engine management system. I may not get the chance to try these improvements on the Ninja ZX-RR in another race, but the information from today will be useful to me in the future, and I hope it has helped the factory with their development programme.”