Kawasaki urge riders to finish races

Although both riders have shown speed in qualifying, they have been inconsistent in the races, with de Puniet crashing in Qatar, while leading in France, and on the second lap in Italy last weekend.

Jacque triggered a multi-bike accident in Turkey, then missed the Shanghai and Le Mans races after badly lacerating his arm in a practice crash in China.

"Our target for both riders this weekend is quite clear; they must stay on the bike, avoid crashing and finish the race," said Bartholemy.

"Between them Randy and Olivier have only managed six finishes out of a possible twelve so far this season; as a factory team, this is not the position we expected to be in at this point in the season.

"Now our riders need to focus on staying upright and giving their current injuries a chance to heal; only then can we start thinking about achieving the results we know our new Ninja ZX-RR is capable of."

De Puniet said he was determined to atone for his recent errors, which have both left him nursing minor injuries, in Spain this weekend.

"Not only is Catalunya one of my favourite tracks but also I'm really looking forward to getting there and making up for my crashes in the last two races," he said.

"My shoulder isn't giving me problems any more and the knee I hurt in Mugello will be alright in a couple of days. I'll be fully fit by the time I jump on the bike and I'm sure we will run a good race there.

"That's what I'll be working for: to give my crew and the whole team a good reason to be proud of me."

Jacque expects his still-healing arm to be less of a handicap at Catalunya than it was in Italy, where he qualified on row two but could only finish 16th.

"It was good to assess my physical condition by going the full distance during a dry race at Mugello and the only thing I suffered from was lack of strength," said Jacque.

"I will keep working on that in preparation for the GP in Barcelona and, even though I don't have much time, I'm sure I'll feel a huge difference."

Both Kawasakis will sport black number decals this weekend as a mark of respect for the company's Motocross team manager Jan de Groot, who passed away on Monday after a short illness.

"Jan was a well known and well respected figure in the Motocross Grand Prix paddock and his presence will be sorely missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him or working with him," Bartholemy said.

"We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Jan's family and friends at this difficult time."