MotoReview

Kawasaki have unveiled their 2006 liveried ZX-RR on the first day of testing at Phillip Island.

Team Kawasaki have flown directly to the Australian circuit after last weeks Sepang testing, alongside the Ducati and Honda teams. Kawasaki's work today and for the next two days will be mainly focused on tyre testing with supplier Bridgestone.

Shinya Nakano: 1'31.8 (75 Laps)

"We tried different suspension and engine management settings on the bike, and we finished today with a good base setting on the bike. There is still a small problem with chattering from the rear, but we think this is caused by a combination of suspension settings and the rear tyre, and we have some ideas on how to fix this for tomorrow. We had some problems with the right hand side of the tyre during the race here last year, so today I tested a new rear tyre from Bridgestone that was much improved. We had to push hard today to do as many laps as possible, because there is some concern about the weather; it changes so quickly here. Hopefully it will stay dry for the tyre tests with Bridgestone over the next two days."

Randy de Puniet: 1'32.4 (101 Laps)

"This is a new circuit for me on the MotoGP bike, so today has been a steep learning curve again. I had some chatter problems for most of the day, which we're still working to sort out, but I switched to my second bike in the afternoon, and this felt a lot better. It was on this bike that I set my fastest lap of the day. I think we will continue with this bike tomorrow for the tyre tests with Bridgestone. This is a very different circuit to Sepang, and I'm still adapting my style to suit aboard the Ninja ZX-RR, but I'm confident that my lap times will continue to improve over the remaining two days of testing."

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager

"Today has been mainly about finding a set-up on the 2006 Ninja ZX-RR machines to suit the characteristics of the Phillip Island circuit. Both riders suffered from a small amount of chatter, but this we can resolve with some changes to the suspension settings. Both riders have also tested revised engine management settings, again to try and find the best balance for the bike around Phillip Island, which is a circuit very different in character to Sepang. At the race here last year we had some tyre issues, so the main focus of the test over the next two days will be to evaluate the many new tyres that Bridgestone have brought to this test."

Kawasaki ZX-RR Pictures

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