The official Kawasaki Racing Team duo of Tom Sykes and Loris Baz will take part in a three day pre-race test shortly, in preparation for the Motorland Aragon round of the SBK championship on 14 April.

This test, to be held between 2nd and 4th April, is another step along the ever-evolving development path of the well-proven Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R SBK racebike. Already a true championship challenger last year in the hands of Sykes, and a race winner in the hands of Baz, the bike is set to have several updates evaluated on track before the second round begins.

The 5.344km Motorland circuit in the north of Spain is almost a home venue for the KRT team, which is based in Barcelona. It is considered a top testing venue because of its mix of fast and slow corners, elevation and camber changes and not forgetting a more than one kilometre long back straight, which tests ultimate power and streamlining.

Sykes was injured in testing shortly before the first round at Phillip Island in late February but has made a good recovery so far from a cracked left wrist and three broken ribs. He is expecting to complete three days of testing given his relatively long period of recovery since round one on 24 February. Sykes rode well in both races at the opening round, despite his fresh injuries, placing fifth on each occasion and leaving Australia fourth in the overall standings.


Tom Sykes:

“In the past few days there has been a real improvement in my physical condition. I will have some final X-rays on my wrist and ribs when I get to Spain and see how we need to play the testing. I am looking forward to the test and we have some new items to try, which should be interesting. I like Aragon because it is enjoyable to ride, exciting, and we have three days there. I am looking forward to getting back onto the Ninja ZX-10R because it has been a long layoff since Australia. The break between round one and round two could not have come at a better time for me because I have had time to recover from my injuries.”

Loris Baz:

“I spoke with my team about this test recently and it appears we have a few more things to try, more or less in the same direction as Phillip Island. I am happy about that because we made a good step there. Motorland Aragon is one of the best tracks to learn because you have more or less everything there; fast and slow corners, a long straight; many different things.”

Guim Roda, Team Manager:

“After this long period between round one at Phillip Island and Motorland Aragon we have been working to fix all details we didn't finish in Australia, because we could not use all of the available testing time there. It is difficult to explain in detail but from Australia to Motorland KRT has changed many details. Another good point of this long period away from the track is that Tom has had time to recover with his wrist and three damaged ribs after his crash in Australia, so for sure in Motorland his performance will be much better than the first round. Loris has been training hard too and has spent some days in Spain with the team trying to learn how to manage situations at the limit. We are confident he will be able to fight for top positions in Motorland. The ‘real’ championship starts there so let’s see the level we can show and all the potential of the 2013 official Ninja ZX-10R.”

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