Kawasaki withdraw from ASBK Superbike with immediate effect
The last two seasons of racing in Australia have been frustrating for manufacturers and all racing teams. This has flowed into a change of market focus for Kawasaki in Australia. As a result Kawasaki Motors Australia are withdrawing from all direct racing support in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) for 2022.
Kawasaki has enjoyed a long-term racing partnership with the BCperformance Racing Team and privateer Matt Walters.
Robert Walker – Kawasaki Motors Australia, National Sales and Marketing Manager
“Kawasaki Australia are grateful to have collaborated with great riders and teams through the years. Kelvin Reilly has proven to be a passionate and capable owner/manager who supplied valuable feedback on the Ninja ZX-10RR. Over the years, Kawasaki has been privileged to work with A-Grade riders; in Australia and internationally, Kawasaki has enjoyed long-term relationships with Bryan Staring and Matt Walters. We thank them for many years of solid riding.”
Unless a major replacement sponsor is found the BCperformance Kawasaki squad will not be competing at the 2021 ASBK finale scheduled to be staged at The Bend in South Australia early next month. That seems somewhat ironic as the last real major success experienced by Kawasaki in Australian Superbike was the last time the series visited The Bend, where Bryan Staring cleaned up with three wins from three starts.
Bryan Staring is currently equal fifth in the 2021 Australian Superbike Championship points standings while his BCperformance Kawasaki team-mate Josh Waters is tenth. This season the team struggled early on to get on top of the electronics set-up on the new ZX-10RR and have suffered grip issues on Dunlop rubber compared to the more dominant performance displayed by Pirelli and Michelin runners in the series.
Kelvin Reilly – Kawasaki BCperformance Racing Team, Owner/Manager
“I spent my UK racing career with Kawasaki, and it was a goal of mine to take the Kawasaki BCperformance Racing Team to a championship in the ASBK series. The achievement of that goal has eluded the team to this point. We are proud of everything the team has done to date. As a supported team, the presentation and performance have always been on-point. The small family-oriented team has strived to take it to the factory teams. There have been superb highs – like Bryan’s winning round in ASBK at The Bend in SA. Through the years, some of Australia’s best riders have stepped into the team, and we thank all of them. This year Bryan Staring and Josh Waters put in the hours and energy, but the racing season was again interrupted, and their potential on the 2021 Ninja ZX-10RR was left unrealised. We wish both riders all the best for 2022. BCperformance Racing Team is now focussing forward to great things in 2022. Thank you to Kawasaki Australia for the support through the years. This change of direction is severely disappointing, personally and for Australian Racing, but we look forward to the next era.”
Source: MCNews.com.au