From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
PRESEASON TESTING – SEPANG, MALAYSIA
23RD JANUARY 2004

CONFIDENCE HIGH AT FUCHS KAWASAKI

The Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team concluded an extremely successful four-day test at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit today, with both riders and team technical staff declaring themselves satisfied with the progress made with the latest version of Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine.

For Alex Hofmann, the first test of 2004 ended in the best way possible, with the 23-year-old German rider posting his fastest lap of the four days during today’s final session. Hofmann, who spent this morning evaluating different rear suspension settings on his Ninja ZX-RR, is confident that further improvements will be achieved when the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team return to Sepang on February 11th.

Shinya Nakano completed 34 laps aboard his Ninja ZX-RR during today’s fourth and final day of testing, working his way through a selection of Bridgestone front and rear tyres, as well as evaluating different front suspension settings. Nakano, from Chiba Prefecture in Japan, was a little disappointed not to improve upon his fastest lap time today, but overall, the 26-year-old Japanese rider was satisfied with his progress during this, his first outing as a Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team rider.

Alex Hofmann: best time – 2:04.43 (45 laps)
“We started out this morning evaluating different rear linkages, together with the frame that Shinya has been using for the past three days. We also tested some more Bridgestone rear slicks and made a few improvements in other areas. It was good to finish this afternoon with my fastest lap of the four days and it’s been fun working with the new guys in the team; they’ve put in a lot of hard work this week. We’ve made some big steps forward with different components on the bike, now we need to bring everything together, ready for when we return here next month. Overall, I’m totally happy with how things have gone this week and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike again in two week’s time.”

Shinya Nakano: best time – 2:04.47 (34 laps)
“We continued with the tyre test programme today, but we also managed to test some changes to the front suspension that definitely gave an improvement in feeling. I also tried the rear tyre on which Alex set his fastest lap, but we had a small problem with the bike and I didn’t get the chance to try a fast lap on it. It was a little disappointing not to improve my lap time today, but I’m confident that we can go faster when we return here for our second test. Overall, I am very happy with my new bike, and the new team have worked well together over the past four days. I will visit the Kawasaki factory in Japan at the end of this month and, hopefully, the feedback I am able to give the engineers will enable them to improve the bike further before we come back to Sepang in February.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“This has definitely been a successful first test for us. Shinya has adapted well to the Ninja ZX-RR during the four days, while Alex has also impressed with his lap time today. The fact that all our new team members have been able to work together, both with each other and with the riders, certainly bodes well for the future. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do before the season gets underway in South Africa, but we leave here confident that we’re definitely moving in the right direction with the latest version of the Ninja ZX-RR.