VOL. 55 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 18, 2018 P49
Ducati for Repsol Honda.
"They [Ducati] talked for a long
time about the tank, like it was
something magical," Lorenzo said.
"But it was just the last part of a
long job. I told the engineers right
away [that I needed a different fuel
tank], but either they did not under-
stand or did not believe me."
Lorenzo is relishing the chance
to race Marc Marquez on equal
machinery in 2019, knowing he's
the only one to win a MotoGP
world championship in the time
Marquez has been in the top level.
"I have a lot to learn from him
because he's been on the Honda
for many years, but I'm sure he'll
learn something from me, too,"
Lorenzo said. "I'm the only one to
win a title against Marquez, I do
not see why it can't happen again.
I will do my best to succeed. It will
not be easy." CN
TEAM GREEN ANNOUNCES WEST COAST OFF-ROAD TEAM
K
awasaki Team Green announced its new West Coast off-road race team. The Robby Bell-managed
Chaparral Motorsports/Precision Concepts/Kawasaki Team Green Team will be made up of three rid-
ers: 2017 Big-6/WCGP Champion Zach Bell, and returning Precision Concepts riders Blayne Thompson
and 2018 WCGP Pro2 champ Clay Hengeveld.
The three of them will campaign the 2019 WORCS and Sprint Hero Enduro Series with Zach Bell and
Thompson aboard 450s (KX450), and Hengeveld on a 250 (KX250). CN
KAWASAKI DOMINANCE BAD
FOR WORLDSBK?
K
awasaki's four-straight
WorldSBK Championships at
the hand of Jonathan Rea, and
the level of Kawasaki's involve-
ment in the championship, is
bad for the series, says Yamaha
Racing boss Lin Jarvis.
"I think the Yamaha program
has stepped up and this year we
saw Michael [van der Mark] finally
achieve third in the champion-
ship," Jarvis told motorsport.com.
"I still think that the involve-
ment of Kawasaki is really the
dominating factor more than
anything else in Superbike, and
while I give full credit to them for
their victories and their multiple
championships, at the same time
I think that dominant involvement
really doesn't favor the show.
"Anyway, Yamaha is committed
to Superbike, next year there are
two teams in Superbike, one of-
ficial [Crescent Racing] and one
independent, factory-supported
team [GRT].
"Superbike is still relevant and
important, but I think that the
competition and the playing field
needs to be equal [rule changes]
for all manufacturers."
Kawasaki only competes in
WorldSBK, having pulled their
MotoGP program a decade ago.
And with Rea riding at the peak
of his form, it's been happy days
for the Japanese company in
the top production racing cham-
pionship in the world. But that
could change in 2019 with the
arrival of Alvaro Bautista and the
new Ducati Panigale V4 R in the
series.
"Unfortunately, the Panigale
V2 was not able to win a champi-
onship but we have lot of hopes
for the new Panigale V4 R," said
Ducati's Paolo Ciabatti to mo-
torsport.com. "Definitely we are
committed. As Lin was saying,
for sure Kawasaki is only taking
part in the Superbike Champion-
ship, it is putting a big effort, and
they have a fantastic rider like
Jonathan Rea. But next year our
expectation is to be able to chal-
lenge them for the championship
until the last race." CN
Lin Jarvis says Kawasaki dominance
isn't good for WorldSBK, and would like
to see more rules to even out the field.
