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]