Kawasaki WSB / WSS - Assen

[MadKaw]

Vermeulen Rejoins Sykes For Assen Weekend
WSBK, Assen, Netherlands, 20 April 2010
The Kawasaki Racing team will have its regular line-up of Chris Vermeulen and Tom Sykes on board for the fourth round of the championship, at the iconic Assen circuit on April 25. Sykes is currently 16th in the championship but ready to push on up the table at what is a recently modified Circuit van Drenthe, with the famous racetrack now measuring 4.542 km long, as opposed to its previous 4.555km.

Vermeulen has recovered well from recent keyhole surgery on his injured right knee, but is still working hard to get full bend and strength back before practice starts.

Chris has an enviable Superbike record at Assen, having taken three of his ten career victories at the Dutch circuit, before he started his MotoGP career. With a degree of Dutch family heritage Chris knows he will also be able to count on support from the enthusiastic local crowd at Assen once again.

Sykes was fourth and sixth at Assen in 2009, in his first SBK visit to the Netherlands, and the Englishman is out for two strong points scores again in 2010.

Tom Sykes: “Looking ahead to Assen I hope we can continue with the progress we have made over the past few races and put in solid on-track performances throughout the weekend. We worked hard on chassis issues at the previous round and finally it came together on Sunday morning, and we produced some good consistent lap times in the race. We are due some good fortune and with Chris coming back we hope that this race we'll be able to showcase the hard work that both myself and the team are putting in behind the scenes.”

Chris Vermeulen: “My knee has been improving every day since I had keyhole surgery and I have a good feeling in most of its range. The difficult part now is getting enough bend in it, and also enough strength and stability in my knee to race at Assen. I want to be able to come back and ride at my normal level. I am getting physiotherapy every day and it is all starting to pay off. I am optimistic that it will have improved even more by race weekend. Assen has lots of flowing parts so you do get a little bit more time to move your body weight around. I really enjoy racing at Assen and have had successful results. I also seem to get a lot of very welcome support there because of my Dutch heritage.”


------------

Championship Leader Lascorz Heads North
WSS, Assen, Netherlands, 20 April 2010
Joan Lascorz and his team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara have set their sights on the fourth round of the Supersport World Championship at Assen this weekend with a high degree of enthusiasm. Joan moved into the championship lead at Valencia earlier this month after a fine race victory, and now leads Kenan Sofuoglu by 65 points to 61.

Fujiwara, despite bad luck in the last race, is very much in the 2010 mix on his Ninja ZX-6R and is looking at Assen as a way to get back in among the leading points scorers. He is currently 11th in the standings, with 15 points.

The famous old Circuit van Drenthe, in the north of the Netherlands, is a classic venue in every sense, but as part of a continuous programme of improvement and modernisation it is now 4.542km long, with modifications at the Ruskenhoek chicane making it both a shorter and faster section of racetrack.

Last time out for Joan and Katsuaki at Assen, in 2009, it was happier day for Joan who was third in the race after missing the win by only 0.178 seconds, while Kats was 14th.

The team has been making preparations for the next few races since Valencia, and will have more new suspension settings for the riders to try in practice, as part of a programme of continuous improvement on the Ninja ZX-6R race machine.

Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki rider Fabien Foret also gets back into action this weekend, sitting in sixth place overall. The 2002 World Champion in this class of racing has won two Assen races during his career, in 2002 and 2005.

Joan Lascorz: “It was great to win and go top of the championship in Valencia, it is where we want to be. The team have worked hard to get us to this point and that work never stops. I have been training at home and I am ready to race again in Assen. It will be interesting to see what has really changed on the racetrack now it is a just a few metres shorter than last year.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I have been training hard since Valencia and have spent some time with Makoto Tamada, working with my physical trainer in Spain. I am only focused on a good result in Assen because I am really determined to do well after the last round.”

[MadKaw]

Progress For Sykes As Vermeulen Makes Race Return
WSBK, Assen, Netherlands, 25 April 2010
With both regular Kawasaki Racing Team riders competing for the first time since the opening race in Australia, Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen each went into the points at Assen. After finishing fourth in the morning warm-up, thanks to some improved front fork settings, Sykes rode aggressively and well in the first race, inside the top ten for periods and only slipping to 12th on the last few laps.

Vermeulen battled bravely despite his right knee injury causing him discomfort, finishing 17th from the 20 riders who made it across the line in the first 22-lap race.

In race two Sykes was taken out by another rider when they collided on lap one, and the Englishman was unable to continue. He is still 16th in the championship, on 17 points.

Vermeulen scored two points for 14th in race two, his determination to ride as best he could despite his lack of mobility and strength paying off in the end. He is 20th in the rankings.

Tom Sykes: “After Superpole the boys and I had a look at the data and to their credit they came up with a good idea for warm-up, which was a vast improvement. We suddenly found some extra pace and were fast and consistent for this session. In race one I had an OK start but the weather conditions were a lot warmer than in the morning warm up. I got away in the top 10-11 and was holding my own but gradually lost a lot of grip in the front towards the end of the race and had to settle for 12th. Race two was a big disappointment for me as I got caught up with some desperate riders who made a mistake on lap one and I paid the price. Both the team and I were gutted as we were looking really good for an improved result for race two.”

Chris Vermeulen: “We finished both races, one in the points. It was difficult to race and I had painkillers and taping on the knee all weekend. We managed to get there even if the bike set-up was not ideal because we had to compromise the settings and my riding position because of the injury. But that side is only going to get better. I am hoping it will be 100% better by the time we get to Monza but it may not be. With two more weeks of physiotherapy my knee will improve and I will see how we are in Italy. Scoring points is a real positive we can take out of this weekend.”

------------------------
Lascorz Extends His Championship Lead With Second Place At Assen
WSS, Assen, Netherlands, 25 April 2010
Front row qualifier Joan Lascorz took his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to second place at Assen today, and in doing so extended his championship lead to eight points after four races. Joan was only 2.796 seconds down on race winner Eugene Laverty but he could have contested the win itself had he not run off the circuit trying to avoid Laverty under braking. Lascorz dropped to third at that point but worked his way back ahead of his closest championship challenger Kenan Sofuoglu on the final lap, recording his third runner-up place of the year.

Seventh place qualifier Katsuaki Fujiwara was restrained in the early laps and lost touch with the leading group, getting into a fight with two other riders that held him back in eighth at the flag, after 21 intense laps of Assen.

Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki rider Fabien Foret fell while fourth, having looked set to challenge for a podium place. It was his first no score of the year and it put him eighth in the championship chase.

Joan Lascorz: “I was happy to finish second in the race. It was a difficult weekend, but at the end of qualifying we were on the front row, but not with such a great lap time. So I put in a soft rear tyre when everyone else seemed to use a hard tyre and it worked for me. I ran off because there was an oil flag and to make sure I did not pass the rider in front on the inside I had to brake hard, and ran wide. Then I lost a place, had to rejoin, but I got back to second. It was a pity because I think I could have had a fight with Laverty until the end. We have the lead and that is what is most important.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “The race was not so bad but in the smaller, tighter, corners I still had some problems turning. I finished the race in the points and scored as many as possible. I made the right tyre choice, I think, the same one almost everyone else used. I took it quite steadily at the start to make sure I could finish the race after not scoring last time.”