300kmh DIY saves Jacque's race!

In only his second outing on the YZR-M1, Olivier Jacque crossed the line in an excellent eighth, but only after some Do-It-Yourself fairing modifications were needed at nearly 300kmh.

The Frenchman was forced to remove part of the carbon-fibre bodywork after a cracked piece of side fairing prevented him from moving around freely on the bike.

"About three-quarters of the way through the race a portion of the fairing broke away and I had to tear it away while I was trying to race with Kenny," explained Olivier with raised eyebrows. "I lost some ground on the Suzuki, and my concentration a little while it was all going on, but then I got back into the rhythm and started to reduce the gap.

"The other thing I was worried about, was that the sound was so different with that part of the fairing missing that I wasn't sure if everything was all right with the engine - it was a real distraction.

"I eventually closed in enough to get the run coming onto the front straight, enough to nail him just as we came over the line. It was not a race win, but it was a small victory in my first full race on the four-stroke," smiled the Frenchman.

Gauloises team-mate Shinja Nakano finished five places behind in thirteenth place.