Spluttering in Spain

I could tear my hair out watching Shinya race. I find myself using my finger to push him forward, egging him on whenever I see him on the screen. That rookie Stoner finished in front of him, and he started out 15th. Shinya ended up seventh. Alright, so that is better than the usual 8th or 9th from last season but there was such high hopes this time. Why ? Why ?! What's the excuse today gonna be ? No update on the Kawasaki site yet, but I'm sure words like disappointed, slow start and better next race will turn up *argh*


Rossi crashed at the first turn, thanks to a very apologetic Toni Elias. The champ that he is, he got up and finished the race, and he wasn't even last. Which was a lot better than the man he cursed last year, Sete Gibernau. Looks like Rossi conjured some really potent mumbo-jumbo on him. Randy De Puniet, Shinya's teammate did not finish as even painkillers could not rein the pain of the fall from the morning warm-up.

Full MotoGP race results from the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, round one of the 2006 world championship:-

1. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 45min 57.733 secs
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 46min 2.108 secs
3. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 46min 7.729 secs
4. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 46min 7.868 secs
5. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 46min 17.28 secs
6. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 46min 18.970 secs
7. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 46min 19.105 secs
8. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 46min 30.147 secs
9. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46min 30.392 secs
10. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 46min 33.716 secs
11. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 46min 35.663 secs
12. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46min 37.247 secs
13. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 46min 40.562 secs
14. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 47min 3.499 secs
15. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 47min 21.033 secs
16. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 46min 8.428 secs

DNF:
Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 22min 52.296 secs
Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 10min 41.370 secs
Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 3min 37.223 secs

Source : crash.net

Ah, the website has just been updated. Apparently, Kawasaki considers seventh place 'solid'. Shinya, on the other hand, was disappointed. As am I :(

"After such a good qualifying session I'm disappointed that I didn't finish higher today. I got a reasonable start, but then Toni Elias collided with Valentino Rossi right in front of me, forcing me to back off. I tried to come back straight away, but conditions on track were very different compared to yesterday. There seemed to be less grip available and that caused me a few problems, as did the strong wind through some of the turns. I didn't feel so comfortable when hard on the brakes today either, which meant I had to brake earlier than normal for some of the faster corners. So, while I could quite easily follow Marco Melandri and Casey Stoner, it wasn't possible to pass them on the brakes. Passing on the straights wasn't an option either, as we are still a little bit down on outright top speed compared to some of the others. As I said, I'm disappointed with the result, but glad to have at least scored world championship points in the first race of the season."

- Shinya on finishing seventh in Jerez

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

Alright, I was right on disappointed, but not the slow start. And no mention of next race either.

Team boss Harold Eckl was easier on Shinya.

"Shinya did a good job, in what was a tough race for him. Conditions have definitely changed from yesterday, which meant he started the race with a less than perfect set-up, but he overcame the problems to score a solid finish in the first race of the season. You could see he was unable to overtake on the brakes, but it was also obvious that we need to find some more power from the engine, so that he at least has the option to overtake out of the slipstream on the straights. I'm sure Randy was hoping for a better MotoGP debut, but the two crashes he had in qualifying yesterday put him on the back foot, and then he crashed and injured himself again this morning. I have every confidence in Randy as a rider; he has shown he has the speed, but now he needs to match this with consistency. He's a strong character, so I'm sure he'll bounce back ready for the next race in Qatar."

- Team Principal Harold Eckl after the race

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

I blame it on my missing bag of Ruffles Sour Cream n Onion. I'll keep the next one under my bed until the Qatar race starts.

Front Row Seats

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

Since the last update, Shinya has finished in the top three at the Catalunya and Jerez testing, a Kawasaki truck toppled over on the highway on its way to Jerez (with no serious injuries, whew) and now Shinya has booked a front row start for the MotoGP 2006 season opener at Jerez.

Full MotoGP qualifying times from the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, round one of the 2006 world championship :-

1. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 39.064 secs
2. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 39.285 secs
3. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 39.526 secs
4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 1min 39.666 secs
5. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 39.734 secs
6. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 1min 39.875 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 1min 39.932 secs
8. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 40.146 secs
9. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 40.160 secs
10. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 40.181 secs
11. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 40.215 secs
12. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 40.340 secs
13. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 1min 40.497 secs
14. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 40.851 secs
15. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 1min 40.982 secs
16. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 1min 41.119 secs
17. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 41.749 secs
18. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 42.267 secs
19. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 42.341 secs

Source : crash.net

Source : crash.net

Shinya dedicated the front row grid position to team boss Harald Eckl, who's celebrating his 50th birthday. May it turn out even happier with a podium position :)

"Qualifying on the front row was one of our targets for this year, but to do it at the first race is fantastic. We knew that Kawasaki and Bridgestone had made a big step forward during winter testing, but you're never sure exactly how competitive you're going to be until you get to the first race. I think this result confirms that our feeling during pre-season testing was correct. Right at the start of the session I crashed because of oil on the circuit, but apart from having to switch to my second bike, it didn't really have any effect on the outcome. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I looked down at the dash because it didn't feel like a fast lap and I was expecting the other riders to make bigger improvements. But they didn't, so I'm on the front row of the grid for the first race and I'm happy with that. It's also a nice 50th birthday present for our Team Principal, Harald Eckl!"

- Shinya on qualifying third

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

I'm cautiously hopeful of how things will turn out later. There's been so many instances of 'I did this but could not keep up...' last season. But, as always, I'll be there with the pom-poms. Or more likely that Ruffles Sour Cream n Onion I've bought for this special opening season race 8]

Knight In Shining Green Armour

Source : Official MotoGP website

Shinya made a €5000 donation to Riders for Health, which works to improve the delivery of health care to remote communities in Africa, by making sure that public health workers have reliable motorcycles that do not break down and are run at the lowest possible cost. Shinya’s donation is equivalent to the costs of providing a health worker with a motorcycle, protective clothing, and training so that he can deliver regular health services to up to 20,000 people.

The money was raised in the 2005 Motegi GP auction of some limited edition caps emblazoned with Shinya's helmet design.

"Being a professional rider I try to help various charities every year. When I joined MotoGP I learnt about Riders for Health. I believe that this charity does many good and important things. That is why, although it is only a small amount, I want to help Riders for Health. I think it is very important that us riders are aware of what is happening in the real world.

Riders for Health make a big difference with their projects abroad, and I think they deserve our support. Together with Arlen Ness we came up with the idea of selling the caps in Japan and donating the profit to charity, and I only wish we could have donated more. I am sure though, that even this small amount will be used for maximum benefit on some of the Riders for Health projects."

- Shinya on his donation

Source : Official MotoGP website & Kawasaki-Eckl

♥ Wow, could I love him more ? ♥ 8B