Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128308
Nakano To Kawasaki MotoGP Team K awasaki's assault on the 2004 MotoGP World Championship will be spearheaded by Shinya Nakano , the Japanese rider having recen tly signed a contract to ride the new version of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR. Nakano and his te ammate Ale x Hofmann are scheduled to test the bike this we ek at the Sep ang Circuit in Malaysia. The team will also switch from Dunlop to Bridgestone tires for the upcom ing season. Initial tests of the new tires have been extremely positive, according to Kawasaki, wit h Hofmann managing to improve his previous best lap time by almost tw o seconds during end-or - season testing at Valencia. "I am very happy to be joining Kawasaki and grateful to the factory for giving me th is op po rt unity," Naka no said in a tea m release. "I think it is a great pro ject - Harald Eckl has explained the deve lopmen t plans for the bike and the det ails of the team for 2004 , and I am extremely motivated for the challenge ahead. I am looking forwar d to testing the new bike at Sepang and wo rking w ith my new teamma te , Alex H ofmann , to develop the bike ready for the start of the season. This will be my sixth year in Grand Prix racing, and my target is very clear: to get back on the podium ." "This will be my sixth year in Grand Prix racing, and my target is very clear: to get back on the podium." - Shinya Nakano Superbikes In Canada moves to Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. for rou nd six, August 6-8. That event is followed by a round at the scenic Le Circuit Mont -Tremblant, just north of Montreal, August 19-22. "The doubleheade r round at Mosport was a great success Red Dog Can Hunt Soon Team Yamaha's Timmy Ferry injured his w rist last year, so we are excited to expand the format furt her," said at Anaheim II when he Colin Fraser of Professional Motorsport Productions, organize r of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. "We have run the doubleheader format at Calgary in the past. It is a popu lar venue lost control in a w hoo p section, crashed. and for our series. and it gives us a second points-scoring event in western Canada." the The schedule for the Parts Canada Super bike Championship is as follows: MAY An additional doubleheader round highlights a 2004 Parts Canada Superbike Championship schedule as Canada's nationa l motorcycle road racing series will consist of eight rounds at six Shannonville Motorsport Park, 20-23 Shannonville, Ontario J ULY 2·3 RaceCityMotorsport Park, venues across the country. For the second straight year Mosport Inte rnational Raceway will stage two point-scori ng races on its traditional mid-July date . But another doubleheader is slated for Calgary's Race City Motorsport Park. The Race City even t also has a new date, moving from its early June slot to the July 2-4 weekend. The Mosport twin bill follows just tw o wee ks later, July IS18, setting up a critical early-season stretch in the battle for the Calgary, Alberta JULY 3-4 RaceCityMotorsport Park, Calgary, Alberta JU LY 15·17 Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario Can adian number-o ne plate . In another new twist, the doubleheader weekends will include two feature races for both the Parts Canada Superb ike and Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike classes. Previously, on ly the Superbike category ran two races on the do uble heade r weekend. The third nat iona l class, the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike class will run one feature race on the doubleheader week e nds. As usual, the Parts Canada Superbike season will ope n and close at Shannonville Motorsport Park, near Belleville, Ontario. The I.S3-mile Pro Track hosts the season opener May 20-23 , while the title chases wra p up on the 2.S-mile Long Track, September 3-5. Following the two dou bleheader weekends in July, the series 10 JANUARY 28, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS JULY 15·18 MosportInternational Raceway, Bowmanville, Onatrio A UGUST 6·8 AtlanticMotorsport Park, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia AuGusr1~22 Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Mont-T remblant, Quebec S EPT 3-:> jammed it. It was the same hand on which he hurt his thumb dur ing snannonvne Motorsport Park, Shannonville, Ontario 40th Anniversary M o tocro ss des Nations this past fall. After a trip to the hospital, the Floridian was forced to sit o ut last Saturday's race. Though X-rays and an MRI proved to be negative as far as any bro ke n bones go, Fe rry says he 's dayto- day as to whether or not he 'll race at San Diego on January 24, roun d fou r of the 2004 T HQ AMA Supercro ss Se ries. "I was in the whoop section, and som ehow my hand slipped off the handlebars, and I jammed it when I crashed," Ferry said in a pre ss release from OMS. "Right away, I knew something was wrong. So I went to the hospital, and the docs there said nothing was broken. Then I got an MRI this morn ing, and my doctor in Florida confirmed that it was just a bad sprain ." Ferry, who is seventh overall in the 2S0cc class despite missing last week's race, said that his doct or told him the w rist was still ve ry strong and left it up to Fe rry to decide if he'll race in San Diego or not. "The swelling still needs to go down," Ferry said. "So hopefully I'll be able to race this weekend. I actually tried to ride last Saturday morning , but I was n't close to being able to compete. So I figured it'd be better to sit out than do something stupid ." Ferry also noted that his thumb , which he injured while racing for the United States at the des Nations , came th rough the accide nt unscathed.