Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Shrine To Speed The Next Stop For The Ninja Express
WSBK, Monza, Italy, 5 May 2009
Broc Parkes should be back in action along side his team-mate Makoto Tamada for the Monza round of World Superbike, a venue that provides the fastest average lap speed of any WSB racetrack. History and high velocity are established partners at Monza, and although Europe’s oldest remaining permanent racetrack may have been tamed somewhat by the appearance of tight chicanes over the past couple of decades or so, it is still a track where sheer speed and raw corner exit power are as important as slipstreaming and hard braking.

The Ninja ZX-10R possesses a strong engine and the Kawasaki World Superbike Team are looking to Monza as a round that offers many opportunities for advancement.

Parkes, who suffered a dislocated collarbone in a testing crash last month and therefore missed the recent Assen round, is working hard to be fit and ready for the extreme braking forced generated by the approach to Monza’s three significant chicanes.

Having secured a podium at Monza in the Supersport class last year, Broc is certainly no stranger to the slipstreaming techniques which are so often required at a circuit which is arguably the spiritual home of all forms of Motorsport in Italy.

Makoto Tamada, himself injured earlier this year after a crash in warm-up at Qatar, cites the 5.793km circuit of Monza as one of his favourite venues and is expecting an even more competitive machinery package to be under his control this weekend.

Makoto Tamada: “I had a disappointing and frustrating race at Assen so I'm happy to put this behind me and give it my best shot next weekend. Monza is one of my favourite tracks and we are also expecting new parts, and if all goes to plan and things work out the way I hope, I should have no trouble having a good result and getting closer to the front.”

Broc Parkes: “I had the displacement operation to remove the gap between the collarbone and the shoulder and I'm recovering well. I'm still pretty sore all over but I was lucky to not break anything and to have this time in between races to recover. I've just started training again and although I'm not 100% fit at the moment, I've come a long way so I'm confident I'll be lined up on the grid at Monza and will do my best.”

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Ninja ZX-6R Duo Prepare For A Test Of Pace
WSS, Monza, Italy, 5 May 2009
The fast Monza circuit throws up its unique annual challenge this coming weekend, a challenge which Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara are prepared to meet head-on as the season builds in intensity. With Lascorz having taken the team’s first podium finish at Assen last weekend, spirits are high in the Provec Motocard.com Kawasaki squad, with the aim this weekend to get both riders into the top few positions.

Fujiwara, 21-times a WSS podium finisher, scored his more recent career victory at Monza, in 2005, while Lascorz is out for his first Monza podium.

Since the last race in Assen the team has been busy making preparations for the Italian weekend, as this unique circuit requires a unique approach in terms of chassis set-up and use of top end power. Heavy braking, quick changes of direction, high-speed stability and slipstreaming are all key at Monza, with particular emphasis placed on making the correct gearing choices for both slipstreaming and running in clean air.

After Monza the WSS competitors, along with the WSBK teams, head for Kyalami in South Africa on 17 May, and then a busy month of is rounded out by the US round, at Miller Motorsports Park, on 31 May.

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We didn’t get the result we could have on raceday at Assen, because in practice we started out very fast but had some problems in the race. But we scored points and at Monza I want to have many more. I like Monza, it’s fast in places and has heavy braking in other places. It’s not like anywhere else.”

Joan Lascorz: “I felt comfortable on the bike in the previous round and I was running up front, even through we still have some work to do on the set-up of the bike, which is a new model this year of course. We have been making improvements all the time so I hope for more at Monza so that I can have another good result.”

Parkes Into Superpole Two At Classic Monza Circuit
WSBK, Monza, Italy, 9 May 2009
Broc Parkes returned from injury to post 13th best time in Superpole on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and start the 18-lap races at Monza from the fourth row of the grid. In regular qualifying Parkes was 16th and only 1.452 seconds from the fastest time in the pre-Superpole session, and after the first of three Superpole sessions, he and his team made a good job of getting into the second elimination round.

Parkes is still not back to his full best in terms of his physical condition following his big crash in testing, and was well down the order on day one. On the latest specification of machine today, which featured some upgraded parts for the Monza round, he was a force to be reckoned with, heading off Assen podium finishers Leon Haslam and Jakub Smrz in Superpole

Makoto Tamada was unable to reach the top 20 qualifying level and therefore enter the Superpole contest, and he now starts 23rd on the grid.

The 5.973km Monza circuit is the fastest one on the WSB calendar, with Parkes setting an average lap speed in his best Superpole lap of 196kmph.

Broc Parkes: “Pretty much race I have been at I have made it into the second sector of Superpole, so I’m really happy about that again. But I think I have three 13th places on the grid already so it would have been nice to have made that next step up to the third row. After yesterday I didn’t expect to be so high up the grid but my fitness was a bit better today. Physically, I am still struggling a lot but to be 13th out of 29, I’m happy. My shoulder doesn’t feel too good but the bike was easier to ride today and I could ride it the way I wanted to, but I still couldn’t move around on it like I would normally. I think it will be tough tomorrow, but I think I will feel a little bit better again.”

Makoto Tamada: “I just could not get comfortable on the bike today and that meant our qualifying did not turn out the way we wanted. I hope we can find something more for tomorrow because normally like this track.”

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Lascorz Only 0.033 Seconds From Pole Position At Monza
WSS, Monza, Italy, 9 May 2009
Joan Lascorz yet again showed the prowess of both his Ninja ZX-6R Kawasaki and himself with another impressive qualifying session in the WSS class, going second on the pre-race timesheets. In five races so far Lascorz has been second fastest in qualifying four times, and the latest success in finding a competitive set-up on an all-new bike allowed him to compete for pole once again. He also has strong race pace, and is looking forward to showing himself as a potential winner yet again in Sunday’s 16-lap competition.

Katsuaki Fujiwara encountered some problems in the lone qualifying session this afternoon and therefore he will commence the races in tenth place, starting from the third row of the grid.

Lascorz has opted to use the engine spec with a greater top end output for Sunday’s race, and posted impressive top speed figures on his way to second overall ranking.

Lascorz: “A front row start again which is good, and the times at the top are very close. We have already made our tyre choice and we are happy with the speed of the bike in a straight line and our race pace. We had a small problem with our set-up this morning, but we found our way later in the day and set a good spread of lap times, despite the red flag interrupting the session. We have two engine specs this weekend, and we have decided on which one to use tomorrow.”

Fujiwara: “There was a small problem early on in the session with the exhaust so I had to come in and change bikes, made a good time but not quite as good as the others. Then when I went out again there was a red flag, which disturbed my rhythm, so I lost a bit of concentration. Now I only have one small problem, in the rear suspension to fix for tomorrow but the team is very confident they know how to fix it.”

Parkes Makes Monza The Best So Far
WSBK, Monza, Italy, 10 May 2009
Broc Parkes scored points in each race at Monza to take the best overall weekend points haul of the season, riding his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to tenth and 13th place finishes. Parkes, recently injured in a testing crash and still recovering, was in his usual combative form, pushing hard and up to eighth place at one time, before being forced back towards the end of the 18-lap races.

He had to ride his number two bike but still made good progress, and now sits 18th in the championship itself, after scoring points in each race for the first time in 2009.

Makoto Tamada suffered a broken left wrist in a crash on approach to the first corner of race one at Monza, shooting off the circuit and bouncing along the grass towards the first chicane.

Another crash a few seconds later caused injuries to a further two riders, and the race was stopped. The complete restart, after one hour of track cleaning, saw Makoto miss his chance to continue at Monza. Although he will also have to skip the next round at Kyalami next week he will be trying to make it to Miller Motorsports Park at the end of the month.

Broc Parkes: “In the first race I had a bit of a problem with my exhaust pipe and started running out of fuel on the last lap. To get a top ten is awesome, however, because we didn’t expect it. We changed the exhaust on the first bike but there was a problem with the radiator, so I had to run my second bike. I ran out of stamina a little bit in the second race and then we started running out of fuel again. After this weekend, it is our best one ever, and we scored points in each race, despite all my injuries. I was very tired in race two so I was glad to bring it home for the team. We have done a lot of work this weekend.”

Makoto Tamada: “On Sunday morning we made some last minute changes and this was much better and I felt much more comfortable on the bike so I had a good feeling for the race. In the first corner I was pushed on to the gravel by another rider and had a big crash. I knew that I hurt my wrist pretty bad so I wasn’t that surprised when they told me after an x-ray that it was broken. I was therefore out of race two and will also miss Kyalami next weekend which is a real shame for me and the team. I hope to be back in Salt Lake City as the break isn’t so bad.”

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Lascorz Second at Monza Despite Early Setback
WSS, Monza, Italy, 10 May 2009
Joan Lascorz overcame a problem soon after the start of the 16-lap race to record a season best second place race finish on his Ninja ZX-6R Kawasaki. The fifth round of the 14-round season proved to be far from straightforward for Lascorz, after a first lap near-crash injured his leg, before he regained ground and hunted down all the riders in his path except one, eventual race winner Cal Crutchlow.

Lascorz improved his placing in the championship from eighth to sixth, after his second podium finish in two races.

Katsuaki Fujiwara was in the early mix at the fast and furious Monza, up to fifth at one point and looking capable of sticking with the podium contenders at one time. He battled with Andrew Pitt for fifth place on the last lap, and only just lost an even higher final placing.

Fujiwara, who has endured some hard weekends mixed in with a best of fifth at Valencia, improved his championship standing to 12th, after a very positive day for Kawasaki in the Supersport class.

Joan Lascorz: “I had a big problem at the start of the race when I almost crashed and hurt my leg when my footpeg dug right into my left leg. It numbed my whole leg for a time and it made changing gears very difficult. I lost some places but recovered them again when I got some feeling back and had to ride hard to take second place. We had a good race here, our best finish of the year and after a start like that it was a good result.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “Not so bad today and we had an improvement in our set-up. We just needed a bit more of an improvement again to finish any higher than this. The team and I are now working very well and although I am happy with the result today I am a racer and I always want more.”

the ZX6R is getting better!!!

Joan kicked arse!