Rea and Sykes launch 2015 Ninja in Barcelona

The first look at the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in its finished form came at the launch of the official Kawasaki Racing Team in their home town of Barcelona on the evening of 5^th February, with riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes on hand to help.

With the speeches and presentation of trophies to some long time team sponsors completed, the opaque glass case that had covered the big green WSB machine was lifted off, with the assistance of both Rea and Sykes, showing the world among other things what the Kawasaki will look like this year with more prominent Monster stickers on it, thanks to the new sponsorship deal with the sports drink company.

Sykes is an old hand at the glitzy yet intimate evening presentations put on by his Catalan based team, but this kind of launch – part evening out, part stage show – was a relatively new experience for Rea.

He stated afterwards, “It is clear the amount of effort that has gone in. They mean business in all aspects, from riding the bike to marketing to everything, so it is good to be part of a team that is motivated in all areas.”

Rea, like his peers, is now heading to Australia in readiness for the first round of the year. “I feel good. I have been riding a lot of motocross in the past week, almost every day. I feel super-ready to go to Phillip Island. We have to be careful not to throw the carrot too far but I am excited to get stuck in and see how we stack up, to be honest.”