KAWASAKI LOOKING STRONG FOR MOTEGI RACE
Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet and Anthony West overcame soaring
temperatures and exhausting humidity at the Motegi circuit
this afternoon, to qualify their Ninja ZX-RR machines on the
second row of the grid for tomorrow's 24-lap Japanese Grand
Prix.
Kawasaki wild card rider, Akira Yanagawa, will be chasing
his team mates from the seventh row of the grid, after qualifying
in 19th position today.
De Puniet opened proceedings this afternoon by switching
to a qualifying tyre just before the halfway point in the
session, capturing pole position with his first attack lap.
The 26-year-old Frenchman held onto the top spot until the
final six minutes, before finally being deposed by eventual
pole sitter, Dani Pedrosa.
Pushed further down the order after a string of fast laps
by his factory rivals, the Kawasaki pilot looked all set to
reclaim a front row position with his last flying lap, but
was baulked by another rider through the last sector and,
finally, had to settle for fourth position and the lead spot
on an all-Bridgestone second row.
While de Puniet's confidence is high going into tomorrow's
race, the Frenchman knows that a fantastic qualifying performance
today doesn't automatically guarantee an equally good result
tomorrow, when conditions are likely to be very different
at the Motegi circuit.
After struggling to get the best from his qualifying tyres
in previous races, West proved today that he's now mastered
the technique needed to turn in a fast time when it counts,
by posting his best qualifying performance to date.
The 26-year-old Australian was placed second on the timesheet,
just behind his team leader, after his first qualifying run,
but was eventually pushed off the front row to finish the
hour long session sixth fastest overall.
Like West, Kawasaki wild card rider, Akira Yanagawa, also
has limited experience of Bridgestone's qualifying tyres,
but still turned in a creditable performance in his first
MotoGP qualifying session since Catalunya in 2003, to secure
19th position on the grid.
The 36-year-old Kawasaki stalwart is under no illusions about
how difficult tomorrow's race will be, but remains determined
to finish what he started at Motegi five years ago and finally
see the chequered flag in his home race aboard Kawasaki's
Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine, albeit one that is very different
to the bike he debuted here in 2002.
All three Kawasaki riders are keen to secure a good result
in tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix, which will be watched trackside
by the chairman of the board of Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Ltd. Mr. Masamoto Tazaki, and the managing director of Kawasaki
Motors Racing, Mr. Yoshio Kawamura.
Randy de Puniet
#14 - 4th - 1'46.643
"I'm a little bit disappointed because I wanted to be
on the first row but it wasn't possible. I gave the maximum,
and I was still going well on the last lap, but Checa was
in front of me and I lost a few tenths so couldn't make it.
Still, I hope to do okay in the race. I'm very happy to be
the first Bridgestone rider on the grid, everybody's done
a great job so far this weekend and I feel comfortable with
the bike, the race tyres and I hope to go well tomorrow."
Anthony West
#13 - 6th - 1'46.912
"Hopefully it won't be this hot tomorrow because a whole
race like this could be very difficult. At the last few rounds,
I've struggled to find the right set up, but here I’m
happy with what we've done so I think it could be a good race.
I thought the other guys would go quicker in the last few
minutes because I got my qualifying in early but most of them
didn't so I'm still second row. It's a perfect place to start
and I'm feeling really happy."
Akira Yanagawa
#87 - 19th - 1'48.569
"I'm still unable to fulfil the potential of this bike
the way we've seen Randy and Anthony doing today because I
haven't yet managed to alter my riding style to suit it. For
example, I like the front suspension to be set harder but
this bike doesn't like that set up so, as I said yesterday,
we need to compromise! For the race, we've chosen a softer
front and a medium rear and I used two qualifying tyres, which
made me almost a second faster, but I need to open the throttle
some more. I'm used to this weather but I'm not used to this
bike! But I will do my best, of course."
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'45.864; 2. Valentino
Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing +0.391; 3. Nicky Hayden
(USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.711; 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki
Racing Team +0.779; 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda Gresini +0.940;
6. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.048; 7. Colin
Edwards (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing +1.133; 8. Loris Capirossi
(ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.183; 9. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati
Marlboro Team +1.257; 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini
+1.272; 19. Akira Yanagawa (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.705
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