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The Superbike market has entered into full swing and on the eve of the Portimao round here comes some not insignificant news. As we anticipated to you at the Most round, Manuel Puccetti will continue next year with Kawasaki becoming to all intents and purposes an official team.
As if that were not enough, he will field a new rider, namely Garrett Gerloff. After the conclusion of the adventure with BMW in Bonovo, the American has decided to accept a new challenge, namely the one in green with Kawasaki colors.
Below is the declaration issued by the team.
The presence of the Ninja in the paddock and on the starting grids of WorldSBK continues. As part of its ongoing overall Ninja marketing and awareness strategy, Kawasaki has announced that Kawasaki Puccetti Racing will be responsible for the continued presence of the Ninja Kawasaki in WorldSBK next season, with the Ninja ZX-10RR package already winning races and championships.
With this strategic move, Kawasaki will thus be more committed than ever to WorldSBK with both the "Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team" brand and the "Ninja ZX-10RR" brand, continuing to entertain racing fans around the world.
Deploying the Ninja ZX-10RR currently competing with the Kawasaki Racing Team in WorldSBK in 2025 represents a new milestone in Kawasaki Puccetti Racing's history. In fact, the Italian team will be the official team that will maintain the Ninja presence on the grid of a world-recognized championship with a huge following and a large audience reach.
In 2024, the Reggio Emilia-based team celebrated its 20 years of racing under the Kawasaki brand. It currently competes in WorldSBK with rider Tito Rabat and is widely recognized as a driving force in WorldSSP. It counts major European successes in Stock 600 and Stock 1000 in its roll of honor, as well as two WorldSSP world titles. In addition, the team has achieved twenty-three race wins in the WorldSSP class plus two race wins and sixteen podium finishes to date in WorldSBK. Speaking about the upcoming season, an understandably happy Manuel Puccetti reflected on his namesake team's racing journey, "On behalf of myself and my team, as well as my sponsors and family, I would like to express how much this represents an honor and a privilege for us. Since my early days in racing, I have always appreciated the elements that make a rider or team successful. I started racing on a 125 cc production bike in an Italian Cup race in the late 1990s, and in 2002 I took the difficult step and became a team owner. I started with just a truck, some motorcycles and a loyal group of sponsors. Starting this way, we have worked and worked to become what we are now; a team that can count world, European and national championships to our credit and a record of success that includes more than 120 podiums. In 2025, we will field the current KRT Ninja ZX-10RR motorcycles and I can only say that for me this is a dream come true. Rest assured that we will do our best to fulfill the ambitions of Ninja fans around the world in the coming season. We are truly honored."
Experienced U.S. racer Garrett Gerloff will join the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team on the Ninja ZX-10RR for 2025, bringing with him proven podium skills and an unwavering desire to achieve even greater results.
For Kawasaki, Shigemi Tanaka, General Manager, Marketing and Sales Division, Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. explained what the philosophy behind the latest WorldSBK strategy is: "Manuel has a unique combination of experience, results, and enthusiasm, and his record of success is tangible proof of his tenacity and professionalism. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team is already working closely with KRT in the current WorldSBK championship, so the communication channels on WorldSBK issues are firmly established and productive. For Kawasaki, it is important to maintain a presence in WorldSBK with our Ninja brand. With our support for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and through the loan transfer of our resources and Ninja ZX-10RR Factory bikes, we can publicly show our appreciation to Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and be assured that the Ninja brand will continue to play a significant role in the WorldSBK paddock."
