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/128400
Chris WI Iker's PSG- 7 Kawasaki ZX- 7OR PHOTOS BY ALEX PHOTO awasaki's current policy concerning Superbike racing has been hard to grasp. The only other Japanese manufacturer besides Honda to ever win the World Superbike hampionship (with Scott Russell in 1993). its ZX- IOR has fared well in Open-class sport shootouts by magazines around the world. But in a ry where Suzuki's success in both World and N Superbike racing as well as World Endurance has equaIlId to showroom sales, Kawasaki's presence in Superblke racing since the ZX-IOR's debut two years ago ' - ' been all but nonexistent. Yet the smallest of the Japanese bike manufacturers pours millions of yen into fighting Suzuki to finish as third-best Japanese brand in MotoGp, though Shinya has indeed had many good runs on his Bridgestone-shod RR to get in amongst the Hondas lined up in vain Valentino Rossi. Enter, however, a sign of a turnaround in Kawasaki's to Superbike racing this year, with the appearance of a tory-supported ZX-IOR Kawasakis in World Superbike; Chris Walker and his Italian teammate Mauro Sanchlni. the sorely missed "green meanies," but instead they're a low meanies" run by the Italy-based PSG-I team, with just a token green flash on either side of the fairing. Team owner Pierguido Pagani switched to Kawasaki from Ducati this year to run what is Japanese manufacturer's only factory-supported Superbike operation anywhere in the world. (The rival Bertocchi Kawasaki World Superbike team that has kept the green flag flying at the world level for so many years is a completely independent privateer operation, as are the Hawk Kawasaki team in British Superbike and Attack Kawasaki's singleton ZX-IOR effort in AHA Superbike.) And Pagani confirms that PSG-I is a true semi-works operation, which heralds Kawasaki's return to World Superbike on a full factory basis in the future. There's also news of late that Kawasaki will return to AHA Superbike with a factory team in 2006 featuring the Hayden brothers, Roger Lee and Tommy. More good news for fans of the green teams. "I first met the head of Kawasaki Europe, Mr. Nomura, at the Monza race last year," Pagani said, "and he suggested we should switch to Kawasaki. Three weeks later, he contacted me to set up the deai we have for this year." And did that entail PSG-I bringing Pier-Francesco Chili? "That was my first question to Kawasaki, because I knew PierFrancesco had doubts about the ZX-I OR's potential - he was pushing me towards Honda, but I knew that there, we'd just be another Honda team, secondary to Ten Kate, and that's the way it's turned out for him with KIaffi. But Kawasaki assured me Chili wasn't a precondition of the deai - they wanted a young, dynamic and, above all, ambitious team that is aiming for the top, and that's us. I had many Kawasakis when I was younger, and they always impressed me as the ultimate sporting motorcycle in their respective category. The chance to be involved in bringing them back to the Superbike category, where they'd so excelled in the past, was irresistible - especially as we'd be working direetly with a factory race department, not just as a customer, as was the case with Ducat!." As a replacement for Chili, who he says flat out refused to race the ZX-I OR this season, Pagani had a prime candidate practically fall into his lap when Walker approached him last year to plead for a ride on the Kawasaki. Armed with a big-hearted Italian second rider in Sanchini, PSG-I now had a promising package for 2005. And that's I< 38 oaOBER 19,2005 • CYCLE NEWS