ROUND 13 - MARLBORO MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX, SEPANG
24 SEPTEMBER 2005 - QUALIFYING PRACTICE

SUPER SHINYA QUALIFIES FOURTH AT SEPANG

Kawasaki team leader, Shinya Nakano, rode his fastest-ever lap of the Sepang
circuit today, with a superb effort to qualify fourth fastest for Sunday's
Malaysian Grand Prix.

This equalled Nakano's best qualifying effort of the season so far - fourth on
the grid for the Dutch TT at Assen in June. Nakano's time of 2'02.178 undercut
Valentino Rossi's track record by 1.1 seconds.

Teammate, Olivier Jacque, a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann, will start
from position thirteen on tomorrow's grid.

Nakano made maximum use of the upgraded specification Ninja ZX-RR motor, and the
latest generation of Bridgestone tyres, to position himself for a strong assault
on tomorrow's 21-lap race.

The new motor provides improved top end power and over-rev capability with
smoother throttle connection.

Nakano was one of four riders in the top seven using Bridgestone tyres, whose
rubber was used by Loris Capirossi to claim pole position. The final 15 minutes
of the session were frantic, with Nakano going third fastest and then securing
fourth on the grid with just three minutes remaining.

Jacque is making his first Grand Prix appearance for eight weeks - his last
outing being July's German Grand Prix - and has spent the two days of practice
and qualifying building up to speed on this Ninja ZX-RR.

Jacque spent most of the session on race tyres, and admits that he is out
practice in maximising the performance of the soft, one lap qualifying tyres
that all riders use to set a fast time.

Jacque was a little disappointed because he was faster in the morning free
practice session, when he was an impressive tenth fastest and just 0.5s off the
best time.

For the race Jacque will continue to use the standard specification ZX-RR motor,
while Nakano will race the latest power-up version for the first time.

Shinya Nakano: #56 - Fourth - 2'02.178

"I'm very happy, because this is a great motivation for the team after our
problems at the Japanese Grand Prix last week. For the last five races I have
not been able to qualify up front like I did at Assen and Jerez, so I'm very
confident after this performance. The new Bridgestone tyres offer improved
forward drive grip, which is important in the tighter corners here. And we now
have good settings for the new motor, better top speed and more usable power
delivery, so I can open the throttle earlier."

Olivier Jacque: #19 - Thirteenth - 2'03.364

"That was a difficult session and I did not get the best performance from the
qualifying tyre, it takes some practice to get this right, you only have one
chance. Also I got a little confused with the set-up. I was comfortable in the
morning session, but then tried a different rear-end setting before switching
back to what I used in free practice. The bike felt better, but I had run out of
time to do a faster lap."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager

"This is a very good result after our disastrous performance in Japan last
weekend. Shinya was again fantastic and OJ did a good job, it is not easy to get
everything perfect after not racing for eight weeks. And Bridgestone have really
stepped forward with tyre performance, I expect we can have a very strong race."

QUALIFYING PRACTICE - FINAL TIMES

 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team  2'01.731
 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP     +0.136
 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP         +0.286
 4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team      +0.447
 5. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP        +0.484
 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda               +0.646
 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team   +0.681
 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team       +0.688
 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP    +0.929
10. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team     +1.074
11. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda                 +1.282
12. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda                 +1.479
13. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team     +1.633