ROUND 9 - BETANDWIN.COM BRITISH GRAND PRIX, DONINGTON PARK
19 JULY 2005 - EVENT PREVIEW

DETERMINED KAWASAKI PAIR HEAD FOR HALFWAY POINT AT DONINGTON

As the MotoGP World Championship reaches its halfway point Kawasaki factory
riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, return to European race action this
weekend for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

The race is the ninth in a marathon calendar of 17 events, and marks the turning
point of a season that ends in Valencia in November.

Nakano and Hofmann come to Donington after strong, points-scoring performances
in last week's American adventure, when they both made impressive debuts on the
difficult Laguna Seca track.

The Donington assignment aboard Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR race bikes will be to
capitalise on those performances, and to continue the upward trend of machine
and tyre development.

And for the second half of the season the factory Kawasaki squad has a two-fold
agenda; maintain the team's third place in the Constructors' Championship and
boost the individual performances of the riders.

After eight races Kawasaki are third in the constructors' points and are the
leading Bridgestone-tyre team, behind only Yamaha and Honda who use a rival
brand of rubber.

Meanwhile Nakano, 27, is out to protect his top ten standing in the riders'
championship. Currently he is equal eighth (with Ducati's Loris Capirossi) and
eight points clear of tenth placed Troy Bayliss on a factory Honda.

Only once this season, with a mechanical DNF in China, has the super-smooth
Nakano been out of the top ten.

For Hofmann, the British GP will be his 30th start for Kawasaki in the premier
class since his wildcard debut in the Catalunya GP of 2002. The 25 year-old
German rider is eager to overcome a disappointing first half of the season,
which was interrupted by injury.

A fractured wrist forced Hofmann to sit out three races, but he showed that he
is back to full fitness with a fighting 11th place at Laguna Seca, despite
losing time with a minor gearshift problem.

The Donington track rewards riding talent, not necessarily outright horsepower.
The main feature is a flowing sequence of fast, downhill corners (Craner Curves)
that link almost instantly with the demands of the Old Hairpin, McLeans and
Coppice Corner that delivers riders onto the back straight.

This is in dramatic contrast to the heavy-braking and hard acceleration of the
Melbourne Loop section behind the pits, which completes the four-kilometre lap.

This will be the 19th British GP at Donington since the switch from Silverstone,
with Sunday's race run over 30 laps of a circuit with a spectacular amphitheatre
setting.

Shinya Nakano: #56

"I'm looking forward to returning to Donington especially with the latest
improvements to the ZX-RR engine management system, acceleration and Bridgestone
tyres, which took a step forward in America. Donington is a technical track and
you need sharp acceleration, precise front-end feel plus good tyre grip; both
for the fast corners and heavy braking. I've never had the perfect feel for
Donington and last year was my first at the track on Bridgestone tyres, so I'm
looking for a much better result this year."

Alex Hofmann: #66

"I'm hoping the second half of the season will be kinder than the beginning. And
I'm sure it will be. I was very happy with the way I rode at Laguna, coming from
15th to 11th twice after a small downshift problem. I just want to carry that
momentum to Donington and through the rest of the season, and to score some good
points at every race. I'm fit and have been training hard and I like fast
corners, so the first part of Donington is a great section of race track for me.
The stop-go part at the end of the lap is not so much fun, so you have to find a
compromise in set-up. After 11th at Laguna I want to go forward from there."