A three-day Development Teams’ test at Phillip Island between 8 and 10 January will give PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse riders Makoto Tamada and Régis Laconi a great opportunity to measure the progress of the all new Kawasaki SBK machine against the established order. Armed with the critically acclaimed new Ninja ZX-10R, new boy Tamada and old hand Laconi will be testing not only their machines but the latest developments in the SBK’s series control tyres, in readiness for the first round of the championship at Qatar, on 23 February.
Phillip Island is the second event on the 15-round 2008 calendar and the 4.445km circuit is notoriously hard on tyres, making this test a vital step along the rapid development curve of the new Kawasaki Superbike in race trim.
Eleven-time SBK race winner and one-time 500cc GP winner Laconi is starting his third straight season with Kawasaki’s lead SBK team, while Tamada is about to face his first full SBK season, after five years competing in MotoGP. Tamada is no stranger to SBK racing itself, however, having competed in SBK races at Sugo as a wild card from 2000 to 2002. He won three WSB races in only six attempts in that period, and also has two race wins in MotoGP to his credit.
Previous tests in Spain have already shown that the latest Ninja ZX-10R is a significant boost for Kawasaki’s SBK ambitions, proving to be powerful and amenable to set-up changes. With riders of such proven pedigree on board, and a rejuvenated backroom squad, the entire PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team is eager to get their latest testing session underway.
