中野真矢
Lap nineteen and Ryō now sets the fastest lap of the race. Shinya Nakano has crashed out when he highsided in the middle of Spoon Curve, tumbling through the gravel and out of contention. The marshalls are recovering his bike as the Japanese Gauloises Tech 3 Yamaha riders walks away in disappointment. Ukawa also has gone down, the Japanese rider running to his bike to get it started and get right back into contention, but to no avail. Ryō meanwhile is still harassing Rossi and exiting Spoon Curve, he has a slight moment, allowing the Japanese wildcard rider to get close to him again. He tries a move around the outside at the Casio Triangle but decides to stay behind him for the time being. However, as the duo comes up to lap Kato, Ryō makes good use of it as Rossi is forced to brake as to not directly crash into him, almost overtaking him on the outside but just lacking the speed to finish the move on the start/finish straight.