Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

After a wild rumor appeared last night that Paul Bird was about to sign Scott Redding to join Chris Vermeulen at the factory Kawasaki squad in World Superbike - a rumor that appears to have been a piece of deliberate misinformation from the Bird camp, after promising an exclusive to Britain's Motorcycle News, and was quickly scotched by a look at the FIM regulations, which confirmed that Redding is too young to ride in World Superbike - the team has finally announced their 2010 line up. As predicted by British site Bikesportnews.com over a week ago and reported by our very own Mike Walt, Tom Sykes has been given the nod.

The Briton is currently partnering Ben Spies at the Sterilgarda Yamaha World Superbike team, but Sykes has been completely overshadowed by the sensational debut of his Texan team mate. Spies' rookie season has disguised the fact that Sykes has had a strong year, consistently finishing in the top 8, with a best result of 4th at Assen. Sykes is currently in 8th place in the championship.

The fact that Tom Sykes has agreed to ride for Paul Bird again should be regarded as remarkable. Sykes and former team mate Shane Byrne left Bird's Stobart Honda British Superbike squad at the end of the 2007 season, amid much acrimony and recriminations. Bird then hit out in very bitter terms at both Byrne and Sykes in an outburst in Bikesportnews.com, accusing them of "turning their backs" on the team.

Much water has obviously passed under the bridge since then, but the suspicion remains that neither Sykes nor Bird had very many other options. Kawasaki remains stubbornly uncompetitive in any World Championship racing other than World Supersport, and neither of Bird's 2009 riders Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada have made any impression at all. Sykes, meanwhile, had few other options on factory-level equipment, and would have been forced to take his chances on a privateer team, a risk he has seen has not paid off as hoped for Shane Byrne.

With Sykes signed alongside Suzuki MotoGP refugee Chris Vermeulen, Kawasaki has its World Superbike squad complete for 2010. The team is due to make further announcements about a title sponsor for the next two seasons, and has had commitments of full support from the factory's HQ in Akashi for the coming years. Hayate and Kawasaki Technical Director Ichiro Yoda is due to join the team to manage the technical side of the project, and to help develop the 2011 ZX10-R. Kawasaki's next liter bike is expected to be a radical redesign of their current machine, including a switch to a big-bang firing order.

It has now been officially announced that Tom Sykes will ride alongside Chris Vermeulen at the factory-backed PBM Kawasaki team in the 2010 World Superbike Championship.

Whereas Vermeulen - a former World Supersport champion, ten time WSBK race winner and winner of the 2007 French MotoGP - is joining forces with Bird for the first time, it will be Sykes' second spell with the team having raced for the squad in the 2007 British Superbike Championship, when he was a regular podium finisher.

Sykes then switched to Rizla Suzuki for the 2008 BSB season, when he won his first races and finished on the WSBK podium as a wild-card at Donington Park. Such performances helped clinch a coveted ride for the factory Yamaha WSBK team, alongside reigning triple AMA champion Ben Spies.

But whilst Spies has enjoyed a phenomenal season, and will battle Noriyuki Haga for title glory in this Sunday's Portimao season finale, Sykes has taken a best finish of fourth and sits eighth in standings.

Having lost his Yamaha seat, the 24-year-old is happy to be back with PBM and ready to put all of the hard-earned knowledge from this season to good use in 2010.

"The team has big plans for World Superbikes next year so I'm really looking forward to being part of them,” said Sykes.

"The big factor for me was that I have worked with the team before and know how good they are, they're one of the best teams I've ridden for and I'll have the same crew chief as I had in my rookie season in BSB.

"I've learned a hell of a lot this year and the intention is to put that experience to good use and I've every confidence that the package will be very competitive in 2010."

"I'm absolutely delighted that we have managed to sign both Chris and Tom, as they are both fantastic riders and I know they'll do a great job for us next season,” said Paul Bird.

"Chris has proved how competitive he is on a Superbike as his results demonstrate and I've always rated Tom highly, that's why I handed him his first proper Superbike ride back in 2007.

"The team has made huge strides forward this year and we can now put into practice what we have learned and I fully expect us to be challenging at the sharp end in 2010.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to both Broc [Parkes] and Makoto [Tamada] for their hard work, professionalism and dedication during the past season and myself and the whole team wishes them both well for the future."

PBM will shortly announce details of a new title sponsor which will back the team for the next two years.

2009 is PBM's first year as the official Kawasaki Superbike team.