Burgess praises Kawasaki 800

Kawasaki is a top rider away from mounting a consistent podium threat in the MotoGP world championship.

That’s the view of Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess, who has been impressed by the performance of the new ZX-RR at the start of the new 800cc premier class era.

Kawasaki’s ZX-RR has arguably developed at a faster rate than its rivals, with the new bike not being unveiled until last November.

Recent engine upgrades have seen engineers add close to 15bhp, and with Randy de Puniet leading for a spell in his rain-soaked home race in Le Mans, Burgess praised the efforts of the Japanese factory.

Burgess said: “Ducati have done a very good job and right now there are two Japanese companies that are probably doing it better or as well as Honda – us and Suzuki for instance.

“Even Kawasaki is only a step away with their motor.  That bike looks good, there’s a lot of Yamaha style in that bike with an in-line four and de Puniet is fast enough on it.

“Put Valentino Rossi on that Kawasaki and it would go at least half a second quicker at most tracks, and see where that would put it, fourth or fifth on race times. So they are one step and a top rider away from being up front.”