ROUND 5 - GRAN PREMIO ALICE D'ITALIA
02 JUNE 2005 - EVENT PREVIEW

HOFMANN ALL SET FOR RACING RETURN AT MUGELLO

Alex Hofmann will make his return to the Kawasaki Racing Team for this weekend's
Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, having now recovered from the injuries he
sustained in a crash during a promotional event seven weeks ago.

Hofmann, who celebrated his 25th birthday just a week ago, suffered a fractured
ulna and scaphoid in his left wrist when he was highsided from his Kawasaki
Ninja ZX-RR in Estoril during a MotoGP parade.

The factory Kawasaki rider underwent a rigorous fitness assessment on Wednesday
evening at Mugello before being given the green light to race this weekend by
Kawasaki's MotoGP Project Leader, Kenichi Furuhashi, and Kawasaki Team Manager,
Harald Eckl.

But while a fitness assessment is a good indicator of a rider's ability to race,
it is difficult for medical clinicians to replicate the physical demands of
racing a 250BHP MotoGP machine. Hofmann will only find out if he is truly fit to
race when he takes to the track aboard his Ninja ZX-RR for the opening practice
session on Friday morning.

On standby, should Hofmann's recently healed injuries cause him problems during
Friday's practice session, is Kawasaki super-sub, Olivier Jacque. The Frenchman
will be at Mugello and also at Catalunya, where he will test for Kawasaki
immediately after the Grand Prix of Catalunya.

Fully fit and raring to go for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix is Hofmann's
Kawasaki teammate, Shinya Nakano. The Japanese star is looking forward to again
spearheading Kawasaki's increasingly competitive MotoGP campaign at Mugello.
Recent engine developments, including a drive-by-wire engine control system,
have allowed Nakano to post impressive qualifying and race performances at the
French GP.

And following a productive engine and tyre test at Le Mans two weeks ago, Nakano
is convinced the Ninja ZX-RR will put him in contention at Mugello, just a year
after he walked away from a nightmare 300 kph crash on the super-fast main
straight at the classic Italian circuit.

Nakano has prepared for the Italian GP with a training camp in France,
undertaking a series of mountain runs and outdoor exercises, including jet
skiing, as a break from gym workouts.

Alex Hofmann: #66

"I've spent seven weeks preparing for this weekend, working with my doctor and
physiotherapist to ensure that I was ready to make my return to racing at
Mugello. I've done everything possible to make sure I'm fit for this race, but
racing a MotoGP bike at a track like Mugello is physically demanding, and I'll
only really find out if all the preparation has been successful when I take to
the track on Friday morning. I'm fairly confident that everything will be fine,
and I'm definitely looking forward to racing the bike again after such a long
lay off."

Shinya Nakano: #56

"I'm feeling refreshed after the training camp in France, it is always good to
try some different training methods. I'm very positive about our potential at
Mugello, especially after the success of the Kawasaki test at Le Mans. Front end
set-up and tyre choice are both critical at Mugello, there are many fast changes
of direction, with heavy braking and downhill corner entries. After the Le Mans
test I think both Kawasaki and Bridgestone have some excellent options in these
areas. Mugello has some bad memories for me from last year, but I want to try
and forget that with a good result on Sunday, which will show the true potential
of the ZX-RR."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager

"Alex will try the bike for the first time on Friday morning, and I hope that
his injuries have healed sufficiently for him to make a good result in the
opening practice session. Should he suffer any problems with his injuries when
he rides the bike, then we always have the option to replace him with Olivier
Jacque, who is on standby at Mugello for just such an eventuality."