From a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

NAKANO MAKES A NOISY ENTRANCE IN TOKYO

Fuchs Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano took part in a question and answer session at Tokyo’s Shinagawa Seaside Forest Oval Garden on Saturday, in the run up to next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.

A crowd of more than 500 people turned out to listen to what Nakano had to say about his hopes for his home Grand Prix, but many had difficulty hearing his comments – despite the use of microphones and a public address system – after the Fuchs Kawasaki rider opened proceedings by firing up his Ninja ZX-RR on stage.

In the confines of the Oval Garden, the noise produced by the 990cc, inline four-cylinder ZX-RR through its open Akrapovic exhaust pipe was truly deafening. As one, the assembled crowd stuck their fingers in their ears, while Nakano gave way to temptation and proceeded to give the throttle on his Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine a good work out before finally hitting the kill switch.

After his noisy entrance, Nakano explained how much he was looking forward to racing in front of his home crowd at next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, and how determined he was to give the fans something to cheer about in the race. The 26-year-old Japanese rider then spent an hour chatting to fans, signing autographs and posing for photographs before finally bidding the crowd farewell.

“It was great to see so many fans turn out for this event,” declared Nakano, after removing his ear plugs. “But it was also nice to welcome our guests from Bridgestone, such as Mr. Yamada, along with members of the Japanese media.”

“After talking about next weekend’s race, and answering questions about my thoughts on my home Grand Prix, I now can’t wait to get to Motegi. I was motivated before to do well in my home race, but the support of the fans here at this event means I’m more determined than ever to give everyone something to cheer about next Sunday afternoon.”

“We have a few more events planned for Motegi, where I’m hoping to get the chance to meet the people who weren’t able to make it to Tokyo this weekend. It’s good that we’ll get the opportunity to meet many more people before the race; when you’re out on track, it’s always good to know that there are fans cheering you on in the stands,” continued the Fuchs Kawasaki rider.

Nakano, together with team-mate Alex Hofmann, will take part in a live question and answer session at the KAZE stand at Motegi on Saturday 18th September at 16.00, after which they’ll sign autographs and pose for photographs before heading over to the Bridgestone stand for another personal appearance at 16.30.

The Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi is the 12th round of the MotoGP World Championship and marks the start of four consecutive overseas races, taking in Qatar and Malaysia and ending in Australia on October 17th.