world supers this Sunday foxsports Assen

[mfzx6r]

World Supers on the sunday

TV GuideClose World Superbike Championships
Assen, Netherlands 07:30 pm - 01:00 am
Sunday April 27 2008
Genre: Sport Motorsport Rating: Screening Info: Widescreen Show Details: The FIM World Superbikes is the premier road racing series for production based motorcycles and in recent years has become a worldwide phenomenon. With 13 races spanning from Australasia to Europe the series truly earns its world status.

[Strika]

The Kawasaki's are doing well as usual......... In SBK 1st Qualifying Tamada managed to put it 6th and only 1/2 a second slower than Bayliss on pole!!

In WSS, Fujiwara managed to get th Kawasaki to within a whole 2 seconds of pole in an encouraging 24th place!!! How good is he??

[MadKaw]

Third Row Starts For Makoto and Régis
Assen, Netherlands, 26 April 2008
Makoto Tamada (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) will line up alongside his team-mate Régis Laconi on the third row of the Assen starting grid on Sunday. Tamada put in a strong performance through qualifying on his Ninja ZX-10R, finally setting a Superpole time of 1’39.307. This placed him 10th overall, only 0.879 seconds from pole.

Laconi made great improvements at the 4.555km Assen circuit after a difficult first day, ending in a high-speed crash that seriously damaged his machine. An overnight rebuild led him try the latest specification of rear swingarm, as first tested at Jerez by Tamada, and Laconi also found an instant improvement in the feel and performance of his machine.

Laconi went on to take the 11th fastest Superpole time, with a 1’39.613, set on qualifying tyres.

Assen is a track which each PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider knows well, and given their improvements in qualifying, their pre-race confidence has received a well-timed boost.

Makoto Tamada: “We almost didn’t touch the bike today as it already suits my riding style. I’m quite confident for tomorrow, as I’ve maintained a good race pace through the weekend so far. We will probably put a softer tyre on the front and a more durable one on the rear, and I think tomorrow I’ll be able to give my fans something to get excited about.”

Régis Laconi “I am very happy to be 11th after Superpole. Yesterday was a bad day and I crashed, and then the mechanics had to rebuild the bike. Today we used the new swingarm that Makoto tried in the tests at Jerez and it was better; definitely going in the right direction. I had a little bit less chatter than before and that means I can go fast. It was also the first time this year that I felt I could use the qualifying tyre properly, and it only gave me chatter at one point on the track. I felt good on the bike today. To be tenth and 11th is good for the team but I know we can be better still. In the races I think we will be OK.”


Assen Qualifying a Real Test for Kawasaki WSS Duo
Assen, Netherlands, 26 April 2008
GIL Kawasaki riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker finished combined qualifying in 18th and 20th positions respectively, finding Assen a tough circuit to master in dry conditions. In the wet the Kawasaki duo were much more competitive, with Fujiwara second fastest in the rainy morning session today and Walker eighth.

Fujiwara and Walker will each start from the fifth row of the grid, but they face 21-laps of the 4.555km circuit prepared for anything, after practicing in conditions ranging from bright sunshine to rain.

Fujiwara is 1.4 seconds from pole man Broc Parkes, with Walker 1.6 off Parkes’ new track best of 1’40.895.

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We have made improvements but the bike is still quite sensitive to changes in set-up. In wet conditions the bike is very stable and we could go fast, but in the high-speed corners the bike feels quite heavy and you have to push the handlebars quite hard to change direction. But when we have a really good setting we can be very fast. In the race we will ride hard, like we always do, so tomorrow will be the time to use my eight years of riding experience in the Supersport class.”

Chris Walker: “We made a big step forward today because we went 1.2 seconds quicker than yesterday, on the same type of tyres, but it is still not quite enough. I needed a bit of clear track as well to improve my time. I need another good start tomorrow, and have to keep my head down. I feel very confident doing the lap times I can do now but I need to find half a second to really be on the race pace. Now the bike is going better I need to step it up.”

[Strika]

I know this will sound callous, but, every time I read a Kawasaki Race team report, it reminds me of reading something like a Review of the mentally handicapped kid who came 2357th in the London Marathon! But let's all be encouraging hey!!!

[mfzx6r]

I know this will sound callous, but, every time I read a Kawasaki Race team report, it reminds me of reading something like a Review of the mentally handicapped kid who came 2357th in the London Marathon! But let's all be encouraging hey!!!

sad but true !!

we can only hope ....

[MadKaw]

Tamada Takes Two Assen Points Hauls
Assen, Netherlands, 27 April 2008
PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider Makoto Tamada moved up to 15th in the championship standings today after two strong points scoring rides. Tamada finished race one in a strong eighth place and followed that up with ninth in the second 22-lap contest, passing riders off the start each time.

Régis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) went 11th in race one but chatter from his machine meant it was difficult for him to post a better result in race two and he slid down from a top ten place on lap one to 16th, missing out on any points for race two. Laconi is now 18th overall in the rankings, with 21 points.

Tamada made real improvements in his machine set-up this weekend and despite needing to improve some more aspects in the near future, these were his first two top ten finishes in one event since joining the team this year.

The next races will be at Monza, on May 11.

Makoto Tamada: “The real satisfaction was to finish two races after two good starts and I gained positions right from the beginning. It was extremely difficult to maintain the pace because of some problems with rear traction, but we did it. We are heading in a better way with set up and we are now seeing the results. This round has been confirmation that the basic set-up we tested in Jerez is the right one. Now we can go step-by-step to make things better.”

Regis Laconi: “I feel like I am saying it over and over but I couldn’t make more than this today. At the moment the bike is difficult to ride with my riding style and when the track conditions start to change the chatter comes back. I’m really disappointed because I could have done better in race one because I made a good start. We will try different solutions for the Monza race and I’ll do my best to deliver some important points to the team.”


Walker Within Five Seconds of Victory
Assen, Netherlands, 27 April 2008
Chris Walker described his Assen performance as his best race of the year so far, as he took his Kawasaki GIL Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to 12th place, less than five seconds from winner Andrew Pitt. Walker, who had qualified only 20th, got a good start and was 14th at the end of lap one, latching onto the second group of riders behind the leading eight. He had made good progress with his machine set up in race conditions and felt confident throughout the race.

Katsuaki Fujiwara, 18th in qualifying, was disappointed to find his raceday set-up affected by chatter, and he slid down the order before pulling in after 14 laps.

Walker is now 11th in the championship rankings, with 20 points, Fujiwara is 20th, with six points.

The next WSS race, round four, will take place at Monza, May 11th.

Chris Walker: “That's the best I have ridden the bike all year, by far, even though I have finished higher. That was a fighting 12th, and less than five seconds from the winner. I could see the leaders for the whole race and it was a strange to see P14 on the pit board and yet still see the winner up ahead. Every corner, every lap I was able to ride the bike as hard as I could. It was hard to pass people, and had to wait for the riders up front to make mistakes - but the riders at the front aren't making many mistakes. We made a big step this week but we need some more top end power.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I had really bad chatter from the machine and decided it was better to stop in the pits than carry on with no chance to score points. It’s not how we wanted this weekend to finish.”

[Strika]

I would just like to be the first of the members to offer my sincerest and most patronising support for all the team Kawasaki riders! WOW!!! A best of 8th place! What an amazing weekend they have had!! I was most happy for Tamada! He was almost extatic at finally finishing one, let alone finishing in the points!!!!!

[ZXR750]

I would just like to be the first of the members to offer my sincerest and most patronising support for all the team Kawasaki riders! WOW!!! A best of 8th place! What an amazing weekend they have had!! I was most happy for Tamada! He was almost extatic at finally finishing one, let alone finishing in the points!!!!!

I think you are a bit harsh there Strika. Walker is in 11th place that is almost in the top ten. Not many support riders are ahead of him. Fujiwara is in the top twenty I think. So he is doing realy well too. Tamada is almost in the top ten and Leconi would have to be in the top twenty five.
I think they are all doing really well. Like school children I think they should all get a trophie.
Seriously it is a disgrace that privateers are consistantly beating the team Kawasaki riders not only on the world stage but locally as well.

[MickLC]

How farkin' good was that supersport race?! It was almost getting difficult to keep track of who was in the lead most of the time.