Shinya Nakano Promises Solid Performance in Malaysia

After one of his best performances at the Phillip Island Grand Prix, Shinya Nakano hopes to continue this series with another good result in the upcoming Sepang race. Even the team's manager, Fausto Gresini, praised Nakano for the Australian GP standing, saying that this was one of the best results so far for the Japanese rider. Obviously, the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider hopes to have another fine performance and promises to finish among the top six once again.

“After finishing fifth at Phillip Island it would be nice to be in the top six again. If we can start practice out on the right foot then that kind of result is definitely within our reach,” he told crash.net.

One of his main advantages is that he's very familiar with Malaysian circuit, the Japanese rider said in an interview for the same website.

“We all know Sepang really well because we do so much testing there during the winter. The technical package I have is different to what we tested with so we'll need a bit of time to find the right setting but, as I say, we know the place well so I'm sure we'll quickly find a good balance,” Nakano explained.

Although he also hopes to get full support from his team, Nakano acknowledged that it all depends on him and pointed out that concentration may be the key for success on such a complex circuit. “Sepang features a lot of technical sections – you need to be very concentrated under braking and good traction is another very important factor. Track temperatures are usually very high so tyre choice for the race is always fundamental,” he said.

Following the Australian Grand Prix when Shinya Nakano finished fifth, the Japanese rider ranks ninth in the overall world championship standings with 106 points. Nakano has had a good season so far, albeit failed to finish any of his 16 races on the podium.