KAWASAKI'S NAKANO UNFORTUNATE VICTIM OF CATALUNYA CHAOS

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano was excluded from the Grand Prix of Catalunya, after falling foul of the regulations during the third attempt to start today's 25-lap race.

Nakano got a lightning start first time out to steal third place into the first turn, but his efforts were wasted when a collision between Ducati teammates, Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi started a chain reaction that saw five riders crash on the entry to turn one, and forced officials to red flag the race.

The stoppage was bad news for Nakano, who had already gapped the rider in fourth place, but good news for his Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, who crashed in turn one after being forced onto the grass to avoid colliding with Gibernau's cartwheeling Ducati.

The drama continued when the race was restarted, as Chris Vermeulen experienced a problem on the grid that required the attention of his mechanics, resulting in a further delay, during which Nakano's Ninja ZX-RR overheated.

The bike was pushed off the grid as the Kawasaki rider sprinted back for his number two machine, but in the confusion of the restart he took his place on the grid, instead of starting from the back of the field as the regulations dictate.

Again, Nakano got a good start to steal fourth place into turn one, but slipped back after being baulked by a hard charging Kenny Roberts into the left-hand turn two. Race officials then showed the Kawasaki rider the penalty board, but Nakano didn't see it as he battled for position down the main straight and, after failing to pit in after the requisite number of laps, he was black-flagged and excluded from the results.

An innocent victim of the first corner crash, Randy de Puniet received a reprieve when the race was red-flagged and he was able to take to the grid for the restart aboard his spare bike.

After a cautious start, the 25-year-old Frenchman was pushing hard to fight through the field, but was forced to try and make up time and positions on the brakes and through the turns, as he was unable to match the straight-line speed of his factory rivals.

Trying to close the gap on Makoto Tamada, de Puniet pushed just a little too hard through the left-hand turn at Le Caixa on lap six, and crashed out of the race after losing the front of his Ninja ZX-RR.

The Kawasaki Racing Team now head for The Netherlands, and next week's Dutch TT, where they are determined to make up for the frustration and disappointment experienced in Catalunya today with a strong performance.