Nakano and Gresini relishing factory spec Honda RC212V opportunity

Nicky Hayden may be out of the Cardion AB Grand Prix Ceske republiky through injury, but there will still be two factory spec Honda RC212V machines on the grid at Brno. Shinya Nakano will be making his first appearance with the 2009 satellite prototype of the bike -adorned in San Carlo Honda Gresini colours- in an arrangement that will continue for the remainder of the season.

Nakano is keen to repay Honda for the opportunity with a positive result, and is happy to have his first contact with the bike at a circuit where he feels particularly strong.

`To ride the bike for the first time at Brno is pleasing for me, because I like the circuit and it´s quite technical. The more powerful engine than that which I had before will also be an important factor at the track,´ says the Japanese rider, the sole satellite man scheduled to use the prototype this year.

`Myself and my crew have a great reward this week: debuting a new RC212V that has evolved in a similar way to that of Dani Pedrosa. I hope that the weather helps us out as we try to make the most of every opportunity, from the first session onwards, to set up the bike for the track and understand it better.´

Nakano´s version of the bike follows Pedrosa´s preference for a standard spring valve engine, rather than the pneumatic valve version used in recent races by Nicky Hayden. The most notable difference in the bikes comes from the tyres, with San Carlo Honda Gresini running Bridgestone rubber -in contrast to the rest of the Honda outfits.

The most successful satellite team for the Japanese factory in recent years in its various incarnations, through the likes of Marco Melandri and Sete Gibernau, the squad run by Fausto Gresini are looking to return to their former glories with Nakano and MotoGP rookie Alex de Angelis. For Gresini himself, the task of developing the satellite bike is a reaffirmation of the pedigree that the team hold.

`The decision to put our team and Shinya Nakano in charge of the 2009 RC212V satellite bike´s development is a source of great satisfaction for us, and strengthens the status as a leading Honda satellite team that we have built up in previous years. We´re pleased with the opportunity and are going to work our utmost to make the most of it,´ proclaims the former rider in the run-up to Brno.

`It´s also a good opportunity for Shinya, who was chosen for the position not just on linguistic grounds but also because of his talent for testing. For Alex, this is also an incentive for him to further improve and transform his potential into results.´