Kawasaki: Big-bang - big change?

Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann plan to capitalise on a strong start to the season in round two of the MotoGP World Championship, in Portugal this weekend.

The Estoril event comes just seven days after the opening race at Jerez in Spain, where Nakano opened his 2005 account with a superb fifth on the 'big-bang' ZX-RR's race debut - and was the highest placed rider on Bridgestone tyres, both in qualifying and the race.

The engine made an impressive race debut at Jerez, with Nakano being supported by German team-mate Alex Hofmann, who finished 11th. There is an expectation that the 'big-bang' motor, still young in its development life, will be the catalyst for a change of fortunes for the team at Estoril.

Estoril is unique on the MotoGP calendar. It has a slow average speed of 152kph but features a long, super-fast front straight with speeds over 330kph. This is combined with a compact infield section that packages a high-speed sweeper with a sequence of slow and twisty corners.

In the lead-up to this year's race Bridgestone have gathered additional tyre data following the visit of their test team last month to Estoril.

"Estoril is a strange track with a very fast straight and tight infield section," confirmed Nakano. "But this part should suit our new 'big-bang' engine because we have good traction and smoother acceleration.

"This year will be very interesting for Kawasaki at Estoril, because last year we didn't perform very well either in qualifying or the race," he added. "I think we can expect similar performance to Jerez and now I'm relaxed and confident, there is always a lot of pressure at the first race."

Hofmann admitted that the circuit hasn't been kind to Kawasaki in the past, but believes it'll be a case of "big-bang - big change" this weekend.

"The Ninja ZX-RR didn't really shine at Estoril last year, although the 2005 model is a very different package, especially with the benefit of the new firing order motor. I'm confident the 'big-bang' engine will be a big change for us at Estoril," he said.

"There is a long straight and, in the early stage of development, we still do not have the most powerful engine, but we have good chassis balance and traction. The surface suits the Bridgestone tyres and I'm looking for another strong result; Jerez was a good race for me, I learned a lot and I'm ready for Estoril," he declared.

First practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix takes place on Friday morning.