From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX – MOTEGI
16TH SEPTEMBER 2004 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAKANO AND HOFMANN IMPRESSED BY BRIDGESTONE VISIT

Fuchs Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann took time out from their preparations for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix to spend a day as guests of Bridgestone, at the Japanese tyre manufacturer’s headquarters in Tokyo and at their motorcycle tyre production facility in Nasu.

Bridgestone’s headquarters, just a short walk away from Tokyo’s central rail station, was the first stop for Nakano and Hofmann. The two Fuchs Kawasaki pilots were joined by fellow Bridgestone riders; Kenny Roberts, John Hopkins and Makoto Tamada as they were introduced to Bridgestone’s CEO, Mr. Shigeo Watanabe.

After the formal introductions, talk quickly turned to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi; an important race for both Bridgestone and the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team.

While Nakano admitted he was looking forward to racing in front of his home crowd for the first time this season, Hofmann explained that, while he enjoyed racing at Motegi, this weekend would mark his first appearance at the track in the MotoGP class, with his only previous experience of the Japanese circuit being on a 250cc machine.

After meeting Mr. Watanabe, the riders then embarked on a two hour drive to Kuroiso City, to visit Bridgestone’s Nasu plant.

Kuroiso City is a major Bridgestone production hub, with four facilities located in close proximity. The Tochigi and Nasu plants manufacture tyres for both commercial and industrial applications, while the Kuroiso plant produces the steel cord used by Bridgestone in the tyre manufacturing process. Kuroiso City is also home to the Bridgestone proving ground.

Established in 1962, Bridgestone’s Nasu plant employs close to 600 people and manufactures more than 27,000 tyres per day. The Nasu plant is also the only production facility in Japan producing Bridgestone’s range of road and competition motorcycle tyres.

On arrival at the plant, the riders were met by an enthusiastic workforce, who all competed for signed postcards and caps during a question and answer session held at the plant reception centre.

After signing autographs and posing for photographs with the Bridgestone staff, the riders were then given a guided tour of the Nasu plant by the plant General Manager.

“I’d like to thank Yamada-san and the rest of the Bridgestone staff for making this visit possible” said Nakano. “The factory tour was interesting, because we got the opportunity to see the motorcycle tyre making process from start to finish. Tyres are an important factor when you’re racing in MotoGP, but I had no idea that the manufacturing process was so complex.”

“It was also good to meet the people who actually produce the tyres. Sure they can see the positive results of their work when the races are shown on television, but it was nice to be able to thank them for their efforts in person. Hopefully we can go from here to Motegi and show our appreciation properly with a good result on Sunday,” continued Nakano.