ROUND 2 - AUTODROMO DO ESTORIL, PORTUGAL
17 APRIL 2005 - MOTOGP RACE

NAKANO EIGHTH IN RAIN HIT PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX

Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano rode a perfectly judged race on a slippery track to
finish eighth in today's rain hit Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.

On the back of his fifth place finish last week in Spain, Nakano is now sixth in
the championship with 19 points after two rounds.

The 28-lap Grand Prix was a huge test of skill and bravery for riders in the
changeable weather conditions, with rain falling on some fast sections of track
in the second half of the race.

Under the new flag-to-flag MotoGP rules the race is no longer stopped for rain,
and pit stops for wet weather tyres must be made under green-light race
conditions.

Today the rain was not heavy enough to justify a pit stop, but Nakano rode a
mistake-free race to keep control of his Ninja ZX-RR fitted with slick race tyres.

The heaviest rain fell over the final ten laps, mainly from the end of the main
straight and through turns one to six.

Nakano started tenth but dropped to 11th on the long run to the first corner,
overtaken by Troy Bayliss.

Unable to make an impression on the lead group Nakano held 11th for 16th laps,
before moving into the top ten and then riding superbly over the final laps to
clinch eighth. A numbers of riders fell in the tricky conditions including
Bayliss, Sete Gibernau and Colin Edwards.

Nakano's performance consolidated Kawasaki's third position in the constructor's
championship, two points ahead of Ducati and 13 points in front of Suzuki.

Nakano will ride again at Estoril tomorrow afternoon, in a test session to
continue the engine development programme for the Ninja ZX-RR.

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Tenth - 1'38.283

"That was not an easy race, especially with rain on some fast sections of the
course. It was very difficult to see if the track was wet, so I had to keep
checking my visor and windscreen for water. It is very difficult to ride a
MotoGP bike on slick tyres on a wet track. My lap times were what I expected,
but the front group seemed to be able to go faster than in practice and I
couldn't stay with them from the start. I got some good points today, but I'm
never happy to be eighth, we need to keep working on engine performance."

Ichiro Yoda: Technical Director

"I am happy for the points from this race in these very difficult conditions.
This weekend was a good opportunity for us to analyse our weak points and the
areas in which we need to catch up, and quickly. Clearly the main area is engine
development and engine management systems. Our chassis and Bridgestone tyres are
performing well."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager

"I'm satisfied for the result in the prevailing weather conditions, which were
not easy for the riders. Shinya didn't have the best start, but he did a very
good job with constant lap times, to score some very valuable points for the
team in the championship."