Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128013
lain MacPherson's World S upersport Kawasaki ZX·6R By Alan Cathcart Photos by Mark Wernham ew race wi ns in recent years have been as unexpected as Scotsma n lain MacPherson's dominant victory in the firs t-ever Worl d Supersport Championship round at Kyalami back in Ma rch . ot only did the unfancied British rider blitz the field en route to a clear-cut win in this most competitive of four-stroke racing classes, he did so on a bike that has been otherwise absent from world-level Supersport contention, until n ow - the Kawasaki ZX-6R. To prove tha t win wasn't a fluke, MacPherson and the ZX-6R just did it again in the Dutch round of the series in Assen. And again in the series' final ro und at Hockenheim in Germa ny . With that fina l vict ory, MacPherson and th e Kawasaki became th e on ly th ree -time winner in the series and it ne tted them second in the champions hip . Those resu lts beg the question: Why ha sn' t a leading team ever raced a Kawasaki in World Supersport prior to this year? At the national level in a host of countries from France to Australia , the U.S.A. to German y, th e ZX-6R ha s proven itself many tim es over since its 1995 d ebut. But apart from Udo Ma rk's victory in th e a bo rtive Thund e rbikes series in 1995, no Kaw asaki rider had ever finis he d o n th e ro strum fo r a prope r wo rld-elass Supersport race. Well, unti l Mac Phe rso n did th e deed in So u th Africa. "People think the ZX-6R isn' t competi tive, so they pr efer to ru n a Yama ha or Suz uki," says Kawasaki team manager Harald Eckl. "But we've p roved this year th a t th e bik e is a wi n ne r, w hich made me feel a lot bet ter after push ing the Kawasa ki factor y to su p po rt us in '99 on a trial basis with a top rid er in a s ingle-b ike team. O u r ra ce e ng ineer, Martin Co p p , ha s d on e all th e R&D himself, wo rking with the factory's very cl ev er Sup er sport ra ce e ngi n eer Yama mo to-sa n, to produce a competitive bik e that benefits more from clever id ea s th an a big bud get. But for 2000 . Kawasaki will have a new ZX-6R based on the pr esent one, uprated in line with ou r debut season in World Supersport. And because of lain' s grea t rid es th is yea r, the fact or y will double their su pport to allow us to run a two-bik e team next season, perhaps wi th eith er an Au stralian or Am erican rider joini ng him. It 's been a good first yea r, in which w e 've co m p le te ly fu lfil led an d even exceeded ou r best expec tations." . To perhaps avoid the kind of overtunin g w h ic h in so me q u a r te rs ha s given the s ho r t-s troke (66 x 43.8mm) ZX-6R engine a re put ati o n a s a fast but frag ile rev-hou nd - a reputa tion perhaps accou n ting for its absence fro m World Supersport g ri d s - Marti n Go rp has concen tra ted o n d e v el op in g th e b ike 's m idra n ge tha n ra the r go ing fo r horsepower '" '" '" 0> numbers; focusin g on rideability rather than straight -line speed , Riding the Kawasaki at Au stria 's A-I Rin g, as the team prep ared for the trio o f ra ce s m ak in g up th e '99 World Supersport fina l, confirm ed this. With just 108 horsepower on tap at the back wheel, running a t 13,800 rpm on the ram-air -equipped Akra po vic d yn o where the bik e ' s Sio veni an-mad e exhaust sys tem was d eveloped (made in O.7m m ga uge s tai nless steel, a nd thus both lighter and less costly than a cornp arable, thic ke r -ga uge, tita nium system), I fou nd at Ze ltweg I cou ld use a, gea r higher for man y of the tu rns , riding the surprisingly po tent torq ue curve to maxim ize midrange acceleration, rather than revving the engine hard in purs uit of top-end power. So long as you have th e needle on th e su rp risingly in accurat e ta ch o (w hich accord ing to th .r team's permanent on-boa rd teleme try, reads as mu ch as 1000 rpm too high) ~ N ~ '" E .c '" i5.. '" UJ 30 (Above) lain MacPh erson has won two Wor ld Supersport roun ds th us far on his 'I Kawasaki ZX-6R. r: (Left) Alan Cathcart was given the opportunity to ri de MacPh erson 's bike at the A-1 Ring in Aus tr ia. He came away r "" impressed.