Kawasaki choose Paul Bird to run factory WSB effort

Kawasaki have ended weeks of speculation by confirming that the British based Paul Bird Motorsports team will run their factory effort in WSB from 2009.

Bird will be tasked with turning Kawasaki’s fortunes around following a drastic lack of results since the ZX-10R’s debut five years ago. The bikes one and only win to date was back in 2006 when Chris Walker went from last place to win a wet race at Assen in 2006.

During the 2008 season riders Regis Laconi and Makoto Tamada could only manage 16th and 20th in the final championship standings riding for the PSG-1 squad forcing Kawasaki to make wide reaching changes for the future.

Bird will retain the services of Japan’s Makoto Tamada who is contracted to Kawasaki and has made the additional signing of former factory Yamaha Supersport rider Broc Parkes. Bird said: “It’s amazing how far we have come in a short space of time and it’s an honour to be representing one of the world’s leading manufacturers”

 “I remember watching the likes of Scott Russell and Akira Yanagawa being championship contenders on Kawasakis a few years ago and that is where we need to be again.

“In Makoto Tamada, we have a rider who has won in MotoGP and WSB and who has lots of experience which will be vital in the early days and they don’t come much more motivated than Broc Parkes.”