From a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

NO REST FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI AS TESTING CONTINUES IN RIO

Less than twenty four hours after competing in the gruelling conditions of the Rio Grand Prix, Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, were back on track at the Nelson Piquet circuit on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, testing new engine and chassis components, as well as evaluating the latest tyres from Bridgestone.

For Alex Hofmann, the main focus of today’s test was on evaluating revised fuel injection mapping, aimed at improving throttle control and power delivery out of the corners. The 24-year-old German also tried minor suspension and chassis changes during four hours and 48 laps of testing at the 4.9km Nelson Piquet circuit.

Faster today than he was in yesterday’s Rio Grand Prix race, Hofmann declared himself satisfied with the improvements made to his Ninja ZX-RR out of the turns. But the Fuchs Kawasaki rider remains convinced that more power needs to be found from the 990cc, inline four-cylinder ZX-RR motor for the straights.

Shinya Nakano started today’s one day test in Rio de Janeiro by evaluating the new fuel injection components that his Fuchs Kawasaki teammate used to such good effect during the Rio Grand Prix. Like Hofmann, Nakano also tested revised fuel injection mapping, before moving on to evaluate minor chassis changes and the latest rear slicks from the Fuchs Kawasaki team’s tyre partner, Bridgestone.

Nakano also tested a revised front fork on his Ninja ZX-RR, which has been designed to give the rider a more progressive feel from the front of the bike. The 26-year-old Japanese rider was positive about the changes, finding the new fork to be an improvement over the old, especially under braking.

The next round of the MotoGP World Championship takes place at the historic Sachsenring circuit in Germany on July 18th.

Alex Hofmann: 1:51.42 (48 laps)
“We tested some revisions to the engine management system today, which gives us a little more torque at the bottom end of the rev range. Together with the revised engine components we’ve been running this weekend, these changes have definitely made an improvement, making it a lot easier to control the power out of the turns. But being able to exit the turns faster doesn’t make up for the fact that we still need to find some more power for the straights. My times today were faster than in the race yesterday so, overall, I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and I’m looking forward to getting back to Europe and starting the preparations for my home Grand Prix at Sachsenring in two weeks time.”

Shinya Nakano: 1:51.31 (58 laps)
“I was disappointed with my result in yesterday’s race. I am very keen to give the team a good result in their home Grand Prix at Sachsenring so today we have concentrated on improving the bike in a number of areas. Overall I think we’ve succeeded, as my lap times were more consistent than they were in the race yesterday. We also tested some new fuel injection parts with positive results, and I think we’ll use these new parts at Sachsenring. The new fork we tried today was also an improvement, giving a more progressive feel under braking. So, overall, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved today; we’ve collected a lot of important information that will prove useful to my mechanics as they work to improve the bike for the next race in two weeks time.”