Kawsaki WSB - Qatar

[MadKaw]

FINAL PREPARATIONS BEGIN IN QATAR FOR KAWASAKI PSG-1 TEAM
Newsflash, 10 February 2008 - A three-day test at Losail in Qatar, the venue of the first round of the 2008 World Superbike Championship, is now being undertaken by the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team, to allow Makoto Tamada and Régis Laconi to make their final preparations, and find a base set-up for race weekend.
Both riders now have extensive experience of the Ninja ZX-10R, but this last pre-season test is seen as a real opportunity to ensue that nothing can be left to chance before the season starts for real, on raceday, Saturday February 23.

The 5.380km Losail circuit is a popular testing venue at any time and its mix of very high-speed corners and tighter, slower sections, is always a challenge to the riders and team technicians.

Eleven-time SBK race winner Laconi and three time winner Tamada have been busy in terms of promotions recently, first at the team’s pre-season launch in its home base of San Marino on 26 January, then a few days later at the launch of the SBK championship itself, in Milan, on 31 January, were they played a starring role next to the stunning new Ninja ZX-10R.

The focus now, however, is all on pure performance, something the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R has demonstrated since it was first unveiled to the public, and then turned into a top-calibre World Superbike racer.

Speaking at the season launch, Laconi in particular was enthused by the abilities of the new machine and the overall direction of development.

“Every aspect of the machine has been improved, and in particular the feel from the rear, the suspension and the electronics package. Set-up is more predictable and we have seen great improvements in rear tyre life in recent tests. The team is working very well together and I have great hopes for this season. I believe we have the entire package to be able to run at the front.”

Testing at Losail finishes on Tuesday February 12, when a full report will be made available on the website.


GIL KAWASAKI RIDERS EAGER TO GET ON TRACK IN TESTING
Newsflash, 10 February 2008 - The GIL Kawasaki team wasted no time in getting on track on the first day of Losail testing, with Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker each getting up to full speed as early as possible as they make final adjustments to their Ninja ZX-6R machines.
Kawasaki’s top World Supersport team earned four podiums last season and the winter development process has allowed their new signings to make rapid progress in getting to know their new machines.

The World Supersport championship is expected to be the most keenly contested series for a number of years, with both respected WSS challenger Fujiwara, and WSS ‘new boy’ Walker, trying to emulate the Rider’s Championship win taken by Kawasaki in the 2001 season.

Despite there being two new riders in the team for 2008, the team is meshing together well in the run-up to the start of the season, with the Losail test designed to get both riders and machines honed to a state of full preparation before the first race of an expected 14-round series.

A full report will be available on the website after the end of this Losail test.

[Big Al Glynn]

I hate to say it MdKaw, but I have lost faith in Tamada or Laconi as riders for the superbike, and also for Walker in the supersport.... I would like to be proved wrong.

[MadKaw]

None of the testing times have been too good but given its a new bike, I'll give em the benefit.. As much as I'd like to see Walker go well, I'm not sure the 600 is his thing.

Roll on the 23rd, then P.I...

[MadKaw]

QATAR TESTS COMPLETED BY PSG-1 KAWASAKI CORSE SQUAD
Newsflash, 12 February 2008 - A final three day pre-season test for the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team culminated at the 5.380km circuit of Losail in Qatar today, with Makoto Tamada and Régis Laconi continuing to work towards an ideal set-up to take forward to the first round of the championship, in just over one week’s time.
Despite a delay to the start of this test, when a few of the team’s latest specification engines were damaged in transit to the circuit, useful information was gained by the team, even with a reduced quota of laps available to each rider.

Final preparations for the first races of the season are now being undertaken at the team's headquarters, based on the information gathered from these most recent tests. Final mapping for the new electronics system and set-up adjustments for 2008 spec race tyres will be the first priorities when the team returns to Qatar, as the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team conducted this test using off the shelf Pirelli tyres only.

There was no official timekeeping in place at this test but Tamada was credited with a best lap of 2’00.4, with Laconi on 2’01.7. Tamada got closer to his ideal race set-up than Laconi on the final day, and also found a solution to the ‘chatter’ that had affected his earlier showings.

On Saturday February 23 the new 15-round/30 race season begins, and both Laconi and Tamada are keen to get strong early scores in when the action starts for real.

Régis Laconi: “We did as much work as we could at these tests, but we could not complete all the laps we wanted to over the three days. The work we did was in a good direction and we know the bike has a lot more to give. So we still have things to do when we get back to Qatar for the race, particularly with the new electronics system. We will be ready to go when race day arrives, that is for sure.”



KAWASAKI DUO SET THE PRE-SEASON PACE
Newsflash, 12 February 2008 - Three intense days of testing around the often dusty Losail circuit in Qatar delivered good results for GIL Kawasaki riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker, with Fujiwara proving to be fastest rider on day three.
Times could have been reduced even more, had the circuit been in cleaner condition, but Fujiwara posted an impressive 2’03.3 second lap, while Walker was only a tenth slower after using Fujiwara’s experience in this class to help him make a final step-up in pace. 2008 will be Walker’s rookie WSS season, despite vast experience in Superbike and many other forms of racing, and he found his team-mate’s assistance in this test invaluable in a number of ways.

Both ‘Kats’ and ‘Stalker’ only had regular production tyres at their disposal for this test as it was not an official FGSport or Pirelli development test, making their best lap times even more noteworthy.

The team were satisfied with their progress, being kept busy by their overall workload and the generally good weather conditions. Walker fell more than once as he picked up speed, but his last day rate of progress was rapid and he impressed his new team, after working through some set-up issues on the first couple of days.

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We found a good balance on the bike so we can leave here very happy with our preparations for the start of the year. We just hope that the latest tyres we will get for race weekend will not make any difference to our set-up, because the bike is ready to go racing now. Our best lap time seemed to come reasonably easily, so I am happy.”

Chris Walker: “Katsuaki was a bit faster than me and I have to say thanks to him for allowing me to tag onto him for a few laps on the final day. I may be thought of as a veteran in some respects, but I am new to this category. So to have the help of Katsuaki’s great experience was appreciated. It has taken me some time to get used to the change in corner speed, and I learned more in those five or six laps behind Katsuaki - where I can go fast and where I have to be slower - than I had done in the previous ten days of riding. The bike is now ready to go, all it takes now is to change from testing mode to racing mode. I am very excited about our prospects for the first round but I also know that the season will be very tough.”