Pacific GP Motegi That wasn't an easy race. My back tyre was not working so well, but it seems everyone was having some problems with grip. For the first 15 laps I was struggling. With a heavy fuel load, the chassis was not working so well. In the last ten laps, the chassis was getting better and better, stopping and turning better. Then I could start to push. I could see Kenny Roberts Jr. in front, and he was 15th, and I really wanted the position to get in the points, so I was trying very hard. Then Olivier Jacque went onto the gravel and came back to the track to join the battle with us. I was able to follow him and improve my lap time by maybe half a second, and we caught Kenny. I finally passed him under braking for the first esses. Then on the last lap I started to suffer from fuel surging - but fortunately I was able to finish without losing the place. I really appreciate the efforts of the team, and the support from the Japanese spectators. And I am very pleased to score the first points for the four-stroke.