WSBK Winter testing report

One of the primary reasons why Kawasaki’s racing efforts in World Superbike have taken such an upswing in recent times is an intense testing schedule, which takes place away from race weekends.

The important role testing plays in going racing to win is difficult to underestimate, especially in a closely matched championship such as SBK, where six major manufacturers are vying to beat each other every time out.

Sykes in Winter testing

There are two main types of test for major teams like KRT. Off-season testing, when points are not up for grabs and thus any major changes to a bike or its set-up can be made before a final direction of development strategy is settled on.

Then there are the mid-season tests, which either allow new parts or modified settings to be used and evaluated, with a more tactical viewpoint, before they are used in the heat of battle.

Guim Roda (Right) is always in contact with the team

We asked the KRT personnel most in the know about the role of testing in SBK racing for their opinions about how important extra track time is, at any stage of the season.

Team Manager Guim Roda, understandably, sees things from an overall point of view, as he is the man responsible for all aspects of the squad when they get to the racetracks. “In winter-testing, from my side, there are three main points,” said Roda. 

“One is trying to create a clear space between the last race of last year and the first race of next season. You use it to recharge the batteries for next year. The next point is like when you go to school. If you do not study you cannot get a good result in the exam. Winter testing, even all testing, is like when you study, so you can get good results on a race weekend. It is difficult to develop new ideas during a race weekend.

Also in the off season this is the time to develop, especially in a factory team, because this is when you can understand what development is coming and also you know the information you will send back to Japan.”

Baz and his Crew Chief, Pere Riba

Loris Baz’s Crew Chief Pere Riba has been part of the Kawasaki development programme for a long time, and understands the methodology very well. “Winter testing is about working with a factory in the background to improve the bike. It is important because during races it can be difficult to test depending on what new things come along. In the race weekend you have to get the maximum from the base you have to get a good result.

When you change some big points, for example in the geometry side, you cannot get the best result in one day. You need more time, and sometimes you need different tracks to confirm 100% what you are doing. It is very easy to lose the line when you are developing a bike. If you try something new and it is a good thing on three tracks, then it is a good thing!

Nowadays, it is more difficult in testing and also less difficult. Now you have many ways to modify the bikes, so if you know 100% what you want, you can go there. But this can also be a negative if you lose the direction.”

Riba and the Showa technician listen

As a former top level rider himself, Riba also understands the importance of keeping the rider’s ‘eye’ in. Viewing life at 300 kilometres per hour is not part of the normal human condition, so riders need regular exposure to more than 220 bhp and over 320 kilometres per hour to be at their best when the season starts, or a big gap between rounds is encountered.

“The rider must be used to the sheer speed of the bike. Even if you test with a motocross bike or a supermotard, it just is not the same. The real test is on the Superbike.”

Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief of Tom Sykes, is another who firmly believes a much more extensive testing programme has shown benefits from last year to 2012. “I think we have shown that testing is very important,” said Duinker. “It was the second year of the Ninja ZX-10R, but the previous year the development was not as extensive as this year, so after the final round in Portimao in 2011 we started from scratch. 

Marcel Duinker

When everything is new you need to build on a solid base by testing. You can test many times but if you have the knowledge in house after a few tests then you are done and you must face your competitors first. You can test ten times but four is enough. You set-up your bike, go fast, and then suddenly think to yourself, “OK, what else?”

Tom and Marcel are a tight team

Duinker continued, “When we were in Almeria in January of 2012 we said, “OK, what will we do now? Beat the lap record? OK let’s do it.” But after that you go out and meet your competitors in a race and after one race you know straight away what to work on next. You then know what is your biggest limitation. During the season you realise that we are short in this or that area of performance. This year the team gave us the opportunity to go out for testing when we found a limitation on the bike and this is one of the reasons why we are so close to the top now.”

Ichiro Yoda, Racing Manager from KHI, is responsible for the project overall, with particular emphasis on engineering developments from the factory back in Japan. He explained that testing, both off-season and in the middle of the season, is simply vital when you have a non-stop cycle of development going on back at the headquarters.

“After every race we have a clear target to improve for the next race,” said the

experienced Yoda. “If we have a rush in the racing activity then we have no time to bring new parts. We have quite limited time on race weekends, 45 minutes free practice and then suddenly we go to qualifying to set a lap time. If we have testing opportunities away from races then we can evaluate things before we come to a race meeting. The final judgement of everything is at races. If we have a good result on the dyno, or on the Japanese test track, the final judgement must still come from these two riders, Tom and Loris.”

Yoda is the link with KHI

Yoda also looks at the human element as important. Along with the need for regular testing there is also the need for rest and relaxation, now forced on everyone in any case by a testing ban through all of December to mid January.

“Testing is very important, also to keep the physical condition and sharpness of riders. In the off-season you bring all new things to test. With the winter testing ban it can be a problem but also the riders have to ‘switch off’ sometimes and enjoy their lives; that includes the mechanics and everyone else.

Team staff study the data

Boxes of spares and tools

Also myself! Even during the testing ban, back in Japan the development work never stops. When I go to KHI in Japan every day they are working until late at night. They work very hard. We pushed things forward a lot in the end of the year in 2012.”

The final result of all that combined effort was coming to within half a point of the championship itself, proof positive that an integrated and extensive testing programme, done well, makes a real difference when it comes to race day possibilities.

Crated ready for the next test

A place for everything

Getting the maximum information

Baz pushes hard

Adjustments are always essential

Test, test then test again

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The show goes on...for Kawasaki riders

Top riders from the Superbike World Championship paddock have been flying the flag for the Kawasaki family over the winter months - and not only on the racetracks - but at major shows and exhibitions.

Being a top professional rider is a demanding job. In some unusual ways as well, as it happens. The intensity of competition, the need to perform every time out and the travel involved in racing and testing are all part of the job for these remarkable people. But there is also another side to their role, an important one for the factories and manufacturers they represent, but also an important one for the fans and media. 

The Kawasaki stand at Motorcycle Live

Over the past few weeks riders like Tom Sykes and Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) plus WSS champion for Kawasaki in 2012 Kenan Sofuoglu have been attending shows and exhibitions as representatives of Kawasaki, meeting visitors and enthusiasts as well as local media and industry figures.

Soon after the race season had been completed both Sykes and Sofuoglu headed to the first big show of the winter, Intermot in Cologne, while French pairing Baz and Fabien Foret appeared at the main French Kawasaki dealer convention immediately after the final race of the season in Magny-Cours.

For Sykes, a flurry of testing has been punctuated by visits to the EICMA show in Milan, Italy, and - not one but two - visits to the Motorcycle Live show at the NEC in Birmingham, UK. His team-mate Baz had a similar schedule, while Sofuoglu was another star for Kawasaki at the EICMA show, and at numerous events in his native Turkey, where he is a true sporting star of national significance.

Sykes, who moved from being ‘merely’ a top SBK rider to an SBK Superstar after missing out on the championship title by only half a point in 2012, said, “I was at the EICMA Show in Milan and the Kawasaki stand was very busy there. We got a lot of attention, which was nice to see. I enjoyed the day and spent a lot of time doing autograph signings at the show. I was very flattered by the amount of Italian fans that I had. It was awesome to be honest. I also did the NEC show in the UK at Birmingham, not once but twice, and also a Kawasaki Riders’ Club session at the NEC. The Kawasaki Riders’ Club night was really good because the fans got the chance to ask us all – Loris Baz, Chris Walker, Danny Buchan, all those guys – some questions one-by-one. 

Sykes signs for the fans in Birmingham

It was good fun and it went on for a long time, to the point that much longer and I would have stayed the night, because they would have locked us in at the NEC! It was really relaxed and I hope it gave the Kawasaki Riders’ Club members something a bit extra. It was good to meet the fans away from racing too. I also got the chance to hand over the Joan Lascorz tribute helmet I wore at the final round of the year to Colin and Sharon Williams, who put in the highest bid for it on the online auction. It was really good to manage to hand it over personally and we spent a bit of time together with them. We added in another couple of gifts from myself, a nice set of gloves and a Kawasaki leather jacket – they deserve it for the great gesture of making the highest bid, with the money it made going to my team-mate Joan.”

Tom Sykes with the Joan Lascorz helmet winners, Colin and Sharon Williams

Sofuoglu, who made his first Kawasaki season a championship-winning season, said, “I did the EICMA show in Milan and I have had a very busy time after winning the title. When you are world champion they want to see you! I have also been to the FIM Gala in Monte Carlo, to collect my championship award, and have been doing many things at home in Turkey. I was really busy with so many PR things and public appearances.”

Kenan is a sporting star in Turkey

Kenan, along with his 2013 team-mate Fabien Foret, had the launch of his Mahi Racing Team Kawasaki squad in India recently too. This was an event which pulled in a lot of media attention and also broke some ground for the first visit of the SBK and WSS classes to India, for the inaugural bike race at the Buddh International Circuit in March next year.

Launch of the Mahi Racing Team

Loris Baz, at only 19-years-of-age, found 2012 a huge learning experience, off track as well as on. “I also did some shows for Kawasaki, the EICMA show in Milan and then the NEC in the UK,” said the tall Frenchman. “I am also going to Japan for Kawasaki as well. The EICMA Show was good and I live only two or three hours drive from there, so it was not so difficult for me to get to it. I was glad I went because it was a good experience and a really big show.”

Loris Baz meets a fan

The top riders will now get a chance to kick back before the season starts in earnest again, and in the SBK world that is a very early start. The first round of the series takes place in Australia in late February, after the final European tests, starting immediately after the winter testing ban lifts in mid-January.

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DragonMotoTours – North Wales Tour

By now you will hopefully have read some of the Versys 1000 touring reports by our friends at DragonMoto – here is their latest venture that is a bit more “local” in Wales – enjoy it in their own words

DragonMotoTours – North Wales Tour - October 2012

Mid October 2012 we ran a 3 day tour through North Wales taking 26 clients on a variety of motorbikes on wonderful roads, visiting great locations and scenery.  We were blessed with fantastic weather for the time of year and it helped to present the Welsh coast, lakes and mountains at their best.

Ready for the off

For this trip Jan took her own bike which gave Geraint the opportunity to ride the Versys 1000 solo fully luggaged for 2 days of the tour and with top box only for the middle day when we undertook a 200 mile ride out which was a circular route starting and finishing at Beaumaris on Anglesey.

First day was a 135 mile ride via the Brenig Reservoir through sweeping bends over the Denbigh Moors.  We rode through Llanwrst onto lunch then over the Nantlle Pass and onto Anglesey for our first night.

The lovely Nantlle Pass - very Versys

Second day we rode on the Llyn Peninsula taking in country roads and some tight hairpins before following the coastal road through Barmouth onto lunch near Dolgellau.  The 15 miles from lunch to Tywyn via Tal-y-Llyn takes in many twists and turns with tightening bends on some narrow sections of road which then leads onto the coastal road back towards Dolgellau and onto a fantastic flowing road to Bala and back to Beaumaris across moorland roads to Ffestiniog and then Beddgelert.

Day 2 riding on the Lleyn Peninsula

Day 2 Tal-y-Llyn

The final day of the tour took a ride around part of Anglesey with coffee at the Welsh Railway station only a few of us can pronounce!  From here we rode over the Llanberis Pass in the heart of Snowdonia and onto Cerrigydrudion for a late lunch.

Coastal Road Tywyn

The weekend tour provided a variety of roads from open A roads to narrow twisty country routes, sweeping bends over open moors and climbs over mountain passes – all of which were just made for the Versys 1000. 

Day 3 Llanfair 

DragonMoto Tours are independent of Kawasaki Motors UK and have chosen the Versys 1000 as the ideal tour leading machine - find out more at DragonMoto web site

Kork Talks - Ballington interviewed

Kork Ballington is instantly recognisable, yet somehow hard to place. Never a racing “poster boy” like Barry Sheene, the quietly spoken South African was four times a World Champion riding Kawasaki machinery (twice more than Sheene) and able to beat the great Wayne Rainey on identical machinery four years after retirement - as well as being the determined developer of the ultimately doomed KR500 GP bike.

Kork Reunited with his factory KR500

A relative stranger to UK shores since his retirement, Go Magazine took the chance to listen to the enigmatic South African - here is what he said.

 “It started when I was 10 years old in 1961 when an International GP circuit was built outside my home town, Pinetown, near Durban on South Africa's East Coast. One of the first events to take place was an International motorcycle race. This was my first experience of such a thing and the bikes blew me away. I knew instantly that I wanted race motorcycles one day. When my brother, Dozy, turned 16 he was eligible for a 50cc race licence. Dad bought him a well-used Maserati T2SS50, two-stroke which I eventually inherited.

Dozy soon graduated onto larger capacity bike and we turned the Honda he’d bought to replace the Maserati into a road racer. A strong 50cc racing class had developed and my goal was to race as soon as I was eligible for a competition licence at 16. Dozy was there helping me right from the beginning with his mechanical expertise. He had one go at racing but never took to it and stuck to wielding the spanners from then on.  

At the end of 1972, after I had been racing for about 4 years, an event for bikes up to 1000cc was organised at a circuit near Pietermaritzburg (about 80km inland from Durban). First prize was two air fares to England, sea freight for two bikes and equipment and about £200 spending money. I won the event on my 500cc three cylinder H1R Kawasaki.

Despite being hopelessly underfunded, and without competitive bikes, my girlfriend, Bronwyn, Dozy and I decided to make for England and Europe to have a go. Between us, we had only meagre savings to add to the £200 prize money. Quite honestly, we expected to see some interesting stuff, have the odd race and return home at the end of 1973 having had some fun. It turned out quite well and we ended up staying a decade!

Arriving in March of 1973, I found a cheap Bed & Breakfast in Earls Court while we set up a van and decided on how to take care of accommodation.

Ending up with a well-used Ford Transit, we made the big mistake of opting for a luxury tent rather than fork out just £50 more for a more useful old caravan. The bikes and equipment were cleared at Southampton docks so we raced there to pick it all up. Transit’s only having two seats; we bought a deck chair which just fitted between the front seats for Dozy to perch on. From there we went to a campsite near Brands Hatch to prepare for our first outing at Mettet in Belgium. Wondering why the campsite was empty, we found out soon enough by freezing our buns off!

While on the road we slept in the van. Dozy would lie across the front seats and Bronwyn and I could just fit between the bikes in the back. We were young and daft, having a lot of fun, but running out of money faster than we realised.

After five continental meetings, we retreated to England to try some short circuit racing and were kindly offered workshop facilities by Doug Aldridge so we rocked up and pitched our tent in a nearby field.

Dozy had our Yamaha TD2B going extremely well and we entered two races at Snetterton. I was 2nd in the 350 event (won by Roger Marshall) and easily won the 250cc event. During the remainder of the '73 season I placed very well in National and International British events, the best being 3rd in the 250cc event at the Hutchinson 100 International at Brands Hatch, 6th in the 250cc event at The Race of the Year and 2nd to Mick Grant at a Cadwell Park International.

Donington Park and Kork is on it

Apart from success on the little Yamaha’s, one of the bikes we brought to England was a Seeley with an H1R Kawasaki motor. We slipped an old 750cc H2 motor out of a crashed road bike into the frame and, with Dozy's expertise, turned it into an effective Superbike for the well supported MCN Superbike series of the time.

I had very good results against the factory Kawasaki’s, Suzuki’s, Triumphs, BSA’s and Norton’s in ‘73 and ‘74 which led to meeting Stan Shenton who ran the Kawasaki race team in England. Their race effort was very professional with Mick Grant and Barry Ditchburn doing well.

For the 1975 season, Stan arranged for me to have two '74 750cc H2Rs for the Superbike series. They were outpaced by the new TZ700 Yamahas so I found myself in a difficult spot. As fate turned out Birmingham business magnate, Sid Griffiths came onto the scene with new Yamahas. I started winning big time and became a prime candidate for a factory ride.

At the end of '77 Stan knocked on my caravan door at the Race of the South and invited me to an end of season party to talk about “something important”. Stan told me he was to run the 1978 factory effort out the Boyer’s of Bromley premises. The objective?...to win Grand Prix and World Titles with the KR series tandem twins.

Don't forget that I was a poor country boy from Natal, South Africa. To race overseas was a dream I’d had when I should have been listening to the maths teacher at school.

Being a professional factory rider was beyond my wildest imagination. Therefore every minute of the experience from when we set foot on English soil to when Kawasaki pulled out of GPs in 1982 was simply wonderful. It was fantastic to be able to start a Grand Prix on great little Kawasaki’s knowing I was in with a chance of beating the world's best and that I had the riding ability to answer any challenge.

It was no secret that the early KR250s had some issues but, by 1977, when Mick Grant, Kiyohara and Barry Ditchburn did a number of Grand Prix’s with great success, they were jets, as good as anything on the circuits. In 1978, the 250 in particular was a superb masterpiece as it had now had about 3 or 4 years of development behind it. The problems were few and far between but with the great team Stan had assembled it was formidable. Once it was set up and I learned how it wanted to be ridden it required very little major work.

The KR350 on the other hand, was hastily developed, possibly an afterthought. It presented a number of problems. Where the 250 was smooth, tractable and handled very well, the 350 was rough which could have side-lined it but for Dozy's ingenuity. The two bikes were like chalk and cheese but bloody hell were they were both fun to ride, unlike the KR500 which was never fully developed; a crying shame.

When the big KR was introduced it was as a prototype and was seen very much as a three year project. From day one the motor was fantastic. It had to be good as it was based on the KR250 which was the best of its time.

The biggest problem we had was the chassis. The designers decided to deviate from convention and went for a monocoque construction. The first KR500, the 1980 version, was long and a bit too heavy. On some circuits it proved that it had good straight line performance but in general its weight made it slow out of corners and the weight and length caused the rear tyre to overheat very early in a race punishing the rear shock absorber. The majority of GP circuits favoured handling over speed so we had quite a hard time.

The ‘81 and ’82 versions were successively better, but not perfect by any means. They were still too long and, although the weight kept being reduced, it always needed to shave a few more kilo’s to be pole position material. That said, I managed two third places on it in GPs at Imatra and Assen in 1981.

It was frustrating as the motor was so good but I simply could not keep up especially out of corners on an overheated tyre. I was the only person racing these prototypes in GP’s since Greg Hansford hurt himself on one at Spa in early '81. I guess one consolation - and confirmation that I was right - was that Eddie Lawson raced one in the States and was not happy with it. He got badly injured at Laguna Seca and stopped riding it.

Studio shot of Kork...without glasses

Finally, at the end of 1982, Kawasaki pulled out of racing on a global basis and I decided to hang up my leathers. I admit it was a premature retirement as I still had plenty of racing left in me and, perhaps, on reflection, I should have tried to get into another top team, but at the time I was just happy to head home.

Some four years later, I was invited to race in the States on a Honda NS500 by the top private team owned by Bob MacLean. It kindled a desire to have a go on a race bred bike with a pedigree of winning GPs and I had my first outing on a GP500 since the end of 1982 at Laguna Seca. Radial tyres were by then well developed, so I was dead keen to see how they compared with the cross plys of my day. As soon as I got onto the track and started getting a move on, I realised the difference between the KR500 and a fully developed racer like the NS500. It was small and light, it changed direction in a flash, had great response out of the corners and by God did those radials stick!

I felt like it would be impossible to fall off and when it started sliding you could feather it to keep the slide going or roll it off to bring the rear wheel back into line. On cross plys you were hard pressed to save yourself it she broke away! After about 60 laps I had bettered Wayne Rainey’s best time on the same bike.  The following weekend at Sears Point, I beat Rainey riding for Honda USA on a 1986 NS500, to win the opening National of the year. I was pumped!

I raced for MacLean Stateside until the end of 1988 when I had my last ride at Mid Ohio on 7 August on an RS250 Honda. I had raced hard for 21 years and loved every minute of it since 7 May 1967 when I had that first race on a little Honda 50cc C110.

Retirement to me meant that I would be moving into a new era which would not involve racing and it was very hard to decide exactly what to do in the early days.

Since we moved to Australia in 1998 I started a business, a fastener retail outlet, which has been going for 11 years now and it has gone from strength to strength. I found business a new challenge and have enjoyed watching it grow on the back of hard work by me and my team.

To be honest, I’ve have had very little contact with the bike world since moving to Australia and have no deep seated desire to attend and watch racing. Lately with the classic events in Europe gaining momentum I was invited to Spa in 2008 and 2009 and Assen in 2010 which has been absolutely wonderful. These events are a reunion of many old “warriors” from Grand Prix racing's illustrious past and a celebration of the fine history of GP racing. The cherry on top is that I have had the privilege of riding Chris Wilson’s beautiful KR500 which, by chance, I have been allowed to ride around the new Snetterton 300 circuit, the very place where we developed the original KR machines.

Back in the UK, a little more grey but no less fast

The KR500 is thirty odd years old now and, if you look at the lap times of modern 600cc bikes, shows just how far things have come on. That said, she’s a special beast and when we fired her up in the pit lane it did cause a bit of a commotion – even Roger Marshall was there to see it which was great.

We only had a couple of laps and I had not been round in a pace car so I took it easy to start with and let the temperature gauge nudge up a little – last thing I wanted to do was seize Chris’s irreplaceable GP bike!

With engine and tyres warm she went like a dream. I stayed clear of the red line while I got used to the new sections but gave her some berries on lap three just to blow out the cobwebs and try and cast my mind back a few decades. The old KR still has a distinct rasp to the exhausts and being long for a GP bike it sure holds a line. I must admit though, I am always happy to coast back into pit lane on someone else’s bike with no scuffs or scars – especially as I was out next on the new 2011 Ninja ZX-10R…and a Superstocker at that.

To start at the end, I had to apologise when I got back to the pit box after riding Howie Mainwaring’s ZX-10R Superstocker. The “F-word” simply fell from my lips (five times!). I could not believe how much road bikes have come on. It made my old GP bike seem tame by comparison and even pulled a wheelie down the back straight… in forth!

"Jeez that was fast" - Kork on a ZX-10R Superstocker

You’d expect all the power to be hard to control, but on treaded tyres, and with the traction control on the raciest setting, it was powerful yet controllable and had the same distinctive Kawasaki edge that makes these bikes differ from other manufacturer’s machines. It was a long, boring flight to the UK, but the chance to ride a Ninja ZX-10R at the circuit we actually developed the KR series race machines on was really exciting.

It just goes to show, all that effort that went into the radical KR500 all those years ago must have been worth it if the KHI engineer’s inquisitive minds and passion for performance eventually created the new Ninja ZX-10R – what a machine and what a privilege. It allowed a slow, old, retired racer to feel fleet-footed and fast once more!” 


Note: A shorter version of this article originally appeared in a shorter form in GO Magazine, the twice yearly publication of the Kawasaki Riders Club. For more information go to: Kawasaki Riders Club

Taking a Dragon to France, Italy, Bourgogne and home….

In September 2012 Dragon Moto  took 14 clients on a 9 day tour of France & Italy covering over 3,200km fully luggaged - the Versys 1000, rider and pillion loved it!  First the group rode through the Somme and Champagne regions of France staying one night before riding south to the Vercors National Park which was the next destination. 

Combe Laval

The Vercors has fantastic roads and stunning scenery.  One of the rides took the team to the “Hanging Houses” in Pont en Royans before climbing to Combe Laval which is a stunning feat of engineering with the road hugging the rocky outcrops.  True, they did have to contend with misty conditions for some of this ride but it only added to the drama of the scenery.  

Mist in Combe Laval tunnel

Next day dawned and the assembled throng rode the Col du Rousset which descends from 1254m via 14km of awesome bends into the town of Die (pronounced “Dee”!), before exploring other fantastic roads in this area such as the Col de Cabre.

Altitude 1254m Col du Rousset

Hairpin - Col du Rousset

Moving onto the Aosta Valley in Italy travelling via Chamonix  the group caught sight of Mont Blanc in glorious blue skies, before riding over the Grand St Bernard Pass at altitude of 2473m.  

From a base in Italy, a ride over the Petit St Bernard Pass descended into Val D’Isere before riding 24km to the top of the highest paved pass in the Alps – Col D’Iseran at an altitude of 2770m. 

On the 3 day route home the happy riders rode over  the Cormet de Roseland which reaches altitude of 1968m via woodland roads and open mountain plateaus.  Continuing this route via Lake Annecy they rode into the Jura Mountains which offer fantastic riding roads including open sweeping bends through forestland.  Next day was a happy and sad ride – happy in that it led to Bourgogne region, but sad as it heralded the final night of the tour.

The Versys 1000 was used on a wide variety of roads on this trip with only 400km’s on motorways.  It handled open sweeping bends to tight hairpins faultlessly and the fuel consumption was excellent even at high altitudes.  The comfort factor was key to a long trip such as this – the bike perfectly matched the tour!

DragonMotoTours web site

Interview with Fabien Raulo

Interview Fabien Raulo, responsible for Kawasaki Supersport World Champion in Sports Bike magazine/web site:

If you've never heard of Fabien, it’s not really a surprise as he usually has his head down and is charging around the paddock trying to coordinate the day to day needs of many Kawasaki racing teams and….get this….trying to keep them happy – wow what a job!

With Steve Guttridge at the top of the Kawa tree overseeing the overall race strategy for tarmac and off-road Lime Green racing, its people like Fabien that “make it happen”, reporting back of progress and “energising” the teams to do their best for the fans while feeding  back any possible technical issues.

Main issues for Fabien this year was to concentrate on the Supersport and Superstock 1000 Kawasaki with Ichiro Yoda looking after Superbike. His reward… playing a part in the title of World Champion, Kenan Sofuoglu on the Ninaj ZX-6R in Supersport and Superstock title for manufacturer/Kawasaki in 1000, ahead of BMW and Ducati.

Here is a translation of a recent interview with Fabien:

The man himself - Fabien Raulo

What is your background and your career?

"I trained as an engineer on a general level and then moved to specialise in the technical part of the engine. I started my career in competition with Randy de Puniet in the 125 class, at the time with Besse Competition Scrab team. After that I worked with Michael Bartholemy, then I just stopped competing to work in the car industry. It was Mr. Yoda whi me called five years in 2007 and asked me to work on the competition side of things again, this time with Kawasaki. I spent a year in Japan, at the Akashi factory, then I returned to Europe to take care of racing as technical coordinator.

What is your role in Kawasaki?

 "At first, it was mostly technical coordinator for circuit races as Superbike. Starting this year, I also take care of motocross. Therefore I am also working closely with Gautier Paulin, Xavier Boog and Tommy Searle.

 What is your assessment of the Supersport season?

 "This is the best season I've known so far. It's been a few years trying to get that title and we were finally able to put it all together to get it. 

And Superstock 1000?

"It is also an excellent track record. Two years ago my superiors at Kawasaki asked me to help get the Ninja ZX-10 to get on the top step of the podium. Last year, we were in a phase of development and the final result was not reflective of the work we did. This year, we went on a sounder footing in this area, with a little more fair balance between effort and result.

I worked closely with Japan, which helped me a lot. Immediately after the race reports there were immediate changes. The development team in Japan gave me a helping hand to bring the bike to where it is today, namely it is capable of winning races and making podiums regularly with Staring and Guarnoni.

FIM Superstock 1000

 That will change the arrival of Dorna?

 "I'm a bit in limbo and wait to see how things will be handled. Initially in 2013 it will not change much. 2014 by contrast I think a balance may be made between two Grands Prix and Superbike championships and there may be a problem for all the teams to survive – that is reality. Of course we want to have a general discussion to improve the situation, as we saw problems with Liberty Racing, or Lorenzini, whose sponsors were not always able to meet their commitments and therefore it was not always easy. Fortunately we arrived with Kawasaki to follow and help our teams, but we are not a bank. Budgets are shrinking and everyone is in the same situation.

The new ZX-6R is a 636cc. It's a surprise ...?

"No, it is not at all a surprise; this is something that has been done in the past. For Kawasaki, it can boost sales of that model/segment with a reasonable development costs. The 599cc Ninja 600 is already very successful and it is not necessary to change everything right now. So there will be a 636 for two years as road bike, while we will consider the new 600 race version may  happen but not for two or three years maybe. If there is a major overhaul on a technical level it will be things like ride-by-wire for example and things like that.

The 2013 Ninja ZX-6R 636

 How is 2013 shaping up?

"We'll put an accent on Stock 1000 I think. This year, we do not go as far as we wanted. I started with Loris Baz, then he went Superbike (as a result of Lascorz’s injury). I often wonder what we could have done if we had stayed with Loris in Stock - maybe we would have been a little more able to attempt to get the overall title.

Superbike action

Bryan (Staring) had a great season, but he started a little late, as did Jeremy (Guarnoni). In Supersport we will continue the effort in 2013 with a direction a little different now because we won the championship we will not divide our forces. We found new partners, such as the Indian team that wanted to join the Kawasaki family and we will assist them now at the same technical level as Lorenzini.

Also big congratulations also to Vanni Lorenzini and his team, including the chief mechanic Paulo Sofuoglu. They did a great job this year in very difficult conditions, especially financially. Plu Kenan  who is an outstanding rider – he never fails to impress me. "

The team celebrates success

Kenan wins Championship for Kawasaki

Kawasaki in the leading pack