Thursday, 02 September 2010 19:50 by Claudio Porrozzi

Mister Yoda, the head of all racing activities with Kawasaki Motor Japan, was in attendance at the presentation of the ZX-10R that will compete in the 2011 WSBK Championship. He made sure to stress just how important the project is for the company.

This is the first time that Kawasaki has designed and built a production bike intended for use by an official team in the series.  In contrast to the usual procedure for building a hypersports production machine, where it is first designed for street use and then adapted for race duty, the 2011 ZX10R was designed and developed first by the race department, with the street model being based off of the race unit.  The road going version will be presented at the IFMA show in Cologne, Germany, in October.

Kawasaki will entrust the bike to the Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team, run by Paul Bird, which will enjoy comprehensive technical support from the main factory. This makes them, by most standards, a factory team.

The initial Japanese testing took place in Almeria, with the new bike being ridden by Fuijwara and Sykes (since Vermeulen and Lascorz were not available).

At first glance, the bike looks very interesting.  Although no technical data has been provided, it seems apparent that this is a completely new design (frame, engine, rear suspension).  The forks and shock are Showa units, while the brakes are from industry leaders Brembo.  The exhaust was made by Leovince.

There is still some uncertainty surrounding the names of the riders, which team bosses - besides Yoda, Paul Bird and Steve Guttridge, head of racing for Kawasaki Europe, were present - did not want to discuss, concerned as they are about the physical condition of the two most likely candidates, Vermeulen and Lascorz.

Kawasaki will also participate - through their European operations - in the World Superstock Championship, with Italian teams Pedercini and Lorenzini.

The first public outing of the 2011 ZX10-R 2011 will be at the Magny Cours post season test.