Hofmann: It felt horrible watching Jacque.

Alex Hofmann will be making his first trip to China this weekend, having been forced to miss the inaugural 2005 race due to injury - then watch his replacement claim Kawasaki's best ever MotoGP finish.

Hofmann, then riding for the Kawasaki Racing Team alongside Shinya Nakano, was still recovering from a broken wrist one year ago - prompting the team to call up former 250cc champion Olivier Jacque... Despite no prior experience of the ZX-RR, the Frenchman went on to deliver a sensational wet weather ride - finishing second only to Valentino Rossi.

"Last year I didn't take part to the race and it was a really horrible feeling seeing my replacement on the podium. So I do not have good memories of the event!" smiled Alex, whose best finish for Kawasaki was eighth and who now rides for the d'Antin Pramac team. "Anyway I'm happy to get the opportunity to get to know a new country like China and to race on a new track. The opinions about the track were not all positive for motorcycles, but I like new circuits so I can't wait to go to this place."

The futuristic Shanghai circuit will also be a new experience for team-mate Jose Luis Cardoso - who was racing in the World Superbike championship last season.

"It seems to be a very impressive track, also very modern but maybe more adapted for Formula One than for motorbikes," said the Spaniard. "Anyway, it will be the same for every rider and so that's not a problem for me. Personally I do prefer the fast but at the same time technical tracks and this one is surely very fast. I Hope to be able to make a good result in China."

"After their debut in Istanbul, this track will also be new for both our riders," confirmed team manager Luis d'Antin. "It won't be easy but we all will work a lot to give the best to Cardoso and Hofmann and allow them to make a good race with our Ducati Desmosedici GP6 'sat'. We will continue concentrating on tyre development, which is one of the most important and demanding things right now. There were small improvements in Turkey, let's hope to go on like this in China."