ROUND 4 - GRAND PRIX ALICE DE FRANCE, LE MANS
15 MAY 2005 - MOTOGP RACE

NAKANO EIGHTH IN TOUGH RACE AT LE MANS

Shinya Nakano brought his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR home in eighth place in today's
French Grand Prix, after a difficult race on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans.

After qualifying sixth on the second row, Nakano was anticipating challenging
for a top five finish in the 28-lap event, which was watched by a near capacity
crowd of 75,000.

However, a minor engine problem slowed his ZX-RR from mid-race, forcing Nakano
to ride conservatively to ensure a top ten finish.

Teammate and crowd favourite, Olivier Jacque, received a tremendous ovation as
he crossed the line in an impressive 11th place in his home race.

This was Jacque's first dry weather race on his Bridgestone-shod Ninja ZX-RR, as
the replacement rider for the injured Alex Hofmann, and he continued his steep
learning curve after a long layoff from racing.

Jacque started sharply and was quickly into 11th. He held off the factory Honda
ridden by Troy Bayliss for 20 laps, before making a small mistake on the brakes
at the second chicane.

Finishing strongly with a fast rhythm, Jacque set his fastest time on the
penultimate lap as he chased Bayliss to the finish line.

Nakano also started strongly, and was into fifth place and ahead of eventual
race winner and world champion Valentino Rossi after two laps.

After holding off a chasing pack Nakano slipped to eighth place, but by mid-race
he suffered a small engine misfire that slowed his progress. Over the final laps
Nakano held a safe gap of three seconds to Toni Elias, as he rode for valuable
championship points.

Today marked the end of Jacque's temporary two-race appearance with Kawasaki,
which was highlighted by his superb second place in the Chinese Grand Prix two
weeks ago

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Eighth

"My start was fast, I had a good feeling and tyre grip in the early laps and I
felt comfortable. But for some laps I had trouble into turn one judging my
braking point, I wasn't as fast as I usually am in this part of the track. Then,
when my good feeling returned, I felt a small misfire with the engine and
immediately thought that I must try and finish the race; I didn't score any
points in China two weeks ago, so this was very important."

Olivier Jacque: #19 - Eleventh

"This race was a special experience for me, because it was my first race in the
dry on the Kawasaki. I learned a great deal today, which I hope will help in the
future if I get another MotoGP opportunity. I made some braking mistakes early
on in the race, and then ran up the escape road at the second chicane. Later in
the race I found a fast rhythm and just got faster and faster; I'm very happy to
finish like that. I tried to catch Bayliss at the end after he passed me, but I
just couldn't get close enough."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager

"After Shinya's strong qualifying performance this result is a little
disappointing for everyone in the team, as we expected a top six result was
possible in the race. The technicians are still checking on Shinya's engine
problem, but he heard some noise and felt a misfire, so he did the right thing
to ride for points. As for OJ, he did another fantastic race for Kawasaki, with
limited testing and practice in the dry. He is still learning about the Ninja
ZX-RR and Bridgestone tyres, but he gave us a great result, second in China,
which was obviously a highlight for the team."

MOTOGP RACE RESULT - LE MANS

 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team  44'12.223
 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP       +0.382
 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team       +5.711
 4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP      +7.276
 5. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda                   +7.703
 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda                +21.770
 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team     +24.664
 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team       +35.940
 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Yamaha Team           +38.062
10. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda                 +52.607
11. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team      +53.302
12. Ruben Xaus (SPA) Fortuna Yamaha Team         +1'00.342
13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP       +1'00.514