Nyhetsbrev

Kawasaki's officiella nyhetsbrev

15 November 2011 Tom Sykes kör Ninja ZX-10R igen 2012

Nürburgring race vinnaren Tom Sykes har skrivit på för att köra i det officiella Kawasaki Racing Team 2012. Där också föraren Joan Lascorz är klar sedan tidigare.
Sykes, som varit en Kawasakiförare de senaste två säsongerna och är en nyckelperson i utvecklingen av den nuvarande Ninja ZX-10R racebike, har redan vunnit ett world championship race för Kawasaki, på den Tyska WSBK tävlingen i September.

Lascorz och Sykes hade sina första tester för att förbereda sig för 2012 års säsong på Portimao på Tisdagen den 18 Oktober. Endast två dagar efter 2011 års slutkampanj och testerna gick bra för båda förarna.

Teamets Europeiska logistikbas kommer att vara i Spanien men med övergripande kontroll direkt från Japan eftersom Superbike World Championship programmet är ett Kawasaki Heavy Industries projekt.

Tom Sykes: “I’m very happy to be continuing with Kawasaki and the Ninja ZX-10R in 2012. I believe the bike has good potential and we saw some of that come through in 2011 with a race win in Germany and superpole at Misano. These are the kind of results I am looking to achieve in the coming season on a regular basis and I really believe we can do this. I have a lot of confidence in Kawasaki and the team around me, so if we can improve a couple of points with the set-up of the bike on the track which I feel are restricting performance this would be a big step forward for us in the final results. I am looking forward to re-starting our test programme again very soon.”

Guim Roda, Team Manager: “We are very happy to run with Tom in 2012. Kawasaki always tries to keep the people it has in place and Tom has been making a good job in the last two years with Kawasaki. He has the potential to go fast, as he has shown in 2011, and now we have to repeat that for full race distance at each round. He is young and determined, which are good combinations for a fast rider. I'm sure working closer with Marcel, his new crew chief, and taking part in all the tests we have planned means he will take one step more and he will be able to fight for the podium places at every race. Let’s see what he can show us all next year."

Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Race Planning Manager: “It's great that Tom's with us again for 2012 in the World Superbike Championship. He's worked hard within the project over the past two years and has always dug deep when it mattered to give us our first pole and race win with the new Ninja ZX-10R. PBM had good insight to hold onto him this year as part of the three-rider team and now Tom has justifiably been rewarded with a full KHI factory rider contract for next year and being part our new WSB project. With a year under his belt on the new bike and a strong test plan being coordinated from Japan, I'm sure we will get to see Tom on the top step of that podium far more regularly in 2012.”