Just as former Konica rider Makoto Tamada will surely forever regret the switch from
Bridgestone tyres, countryman Nakano must wonder what might have been had he stayed at Kawasaki - Shinya having only managed a best finish of tenth on the troubled combination of a satellite RCV on Michelin tyres so far this season.
With Honda's 250cc title contender
Andrea Dovizioso strongly linked to Nakano's seat for 2008, Nakano is under pressure for results - while JiR is also feeling the heat of underperformance, which could result in some form of merger between Dovi's existing Kopron Team Scot outfit and JiR for 2008.
"I think Shinya now needs to show an aggressive approach for the Estoril race," said team manager Gianluca Montiron. "We know Shinya has had difficulty adapting to his new 2007 package, but we are at the point in the season where we need to get some good results to continue in the current direction or perhaps look at a different overall strategy for the team."
Nakano currently sits 16th in the
MotoGP World Championship standings.
