Kawasaki satisfied after first round of testing

Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada got their first taste of the 2009 specification Kawasaki ZX-10R’s they will be campaigning in the World Superbike championship in 2009.

The factory Kawasaki squad now run by the British Paul Bird Motorsport squad completed four intensive days of testing beginning with two days at Almeria before moving on to Cartagena.

The opening two days in Almeria were used as an initial shakedown for the two riders who were onboard 2009 specification factory Kawasaki ZX-10R’s for the first time.

The new look squad included 13 Japanese personnel from the factory including ZX-10 project leaders and a new crew chief for Tamada, Katsuhiro Yanagawa who has been working for Yoshimura Suzuki in AMA for the last seven years.

After the initial testing in Almeria, the team moved up the Spanish coast to Cartagena where they had two more productive days with both riders completing in the region of 150 laps each.

Speaking exclusively to MCN, Paul Bird said:

“It’s been really positive. The first two days were really all about getting to know each other and for us to see how the riders work. The two days in Cartagena were really productive and allowed us to get down to some serious laps. We’re still at a stage where we are evaluating components like electronics, but both riders seem happy and as a team we’re definitely making progress.”

The team are set to complete another test in Almeria before heading to the official WSB test at Parkalgar where they will be on track with all their rivals for the first time.