Kawasaki duo struggling with injuries

De Puniet hurt his shoulder in his crash at Le Mans, while Jacque is still recovering from the arm injury he suffered in China.

And although both are fit enough to ride, the duo have admitted that the first day of action around the demanding Mugello circuit was not easy. Despite that, initial impressions of their upgraded engine have been positive.

De Puniet said: "Due to my shoulder injury, this morning's session was hard, especially when changing direction and entering right hand corners. Because of that my lap times weren't as good as I'd have liked and I couldn't properly evaluate the improvements we've made to the Ninja ZX-RR.

"However, as I did more laps and my body warmed up, I felt better, making me feel more confident for the rest of the weekend.

"It rained like hell before the afternoon session but that gave us the opportunity to try the new engine in wet conditions and the first impression has been positive. It needs some adjustments, though, as it's still quite aggressive.

"Because of that, I couldn't get a good lap time in but I'm optimistic for tomorrow as we know the way we need to go."

Jacque added: "It was great to be back on the bike, although this morning was hard. After a few laps, I lost strength in my arm and tried to compensate for it with the shoulder. I lost precision in changing direction, and probably overloaded it, so I had to stop in the box a couple of times to get some rest.

"I'm not worried about that, though, as I know the strength will soon come back. Physically, the afternoon session was easier for me, as riding in the rain is less demanding, although the amount of water on the track was unbelievable and it was really difficult to control the bike.

"Things got better as the rain decreased, and I improved my lap times, but I wasn't totally confident as I didn't have much rear traction. We'll need to improve that tomorrow if we're to be ready for a wet race."