Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. R+D Test Rider Derek Keyes Prepares for the Suzuka 8 Hour For a third year in a row Kawasaki R+D test rider Derek Keyes will join Team 38 PS-K for the Suzuka 8 Hour race. Last year’s 8 hour ended in disaster when a rider high sided in front of Derek leaving him nowhere to go but straight into the tumbling motorcycle. The Team 38 Kawasaki Ninja® ZX™-10R was critically damaged in the crash forcing the team to retire from the race. 2013 is a year of “revenge” for Team 38 PS-K! The team has worked hard to improve the race bike and the riders have been training harder than ever! The first priority is to finish, but this year Team 38 PS-K is pushing for a top 15 result! Derek Keyes: “Last year just sucked! I was so bummed with the crash and not being able to finish the race. The team told me they wanted to come back hard for 2013 and I was all about it. I wasn’t able to join the team for the test last week because I just didn’t have the budget and time to do it but Karita says the bike is better than last year and he was able to click off 2:12s pretty easily! I’ve been training my butt off and trimmed off about 10 lbs.! I’ve also been racing with WERA in between my testing duties to stay sharp on the bike so I feel ready to head off to Suzuka and give it my all! I have to thank a lot of people who have stepped up and supported me as I prepared for this year’s 8tai: my family, friends, all the people at Kawasaki U.S.A., Shoei Helmets, Pilot U.S.A., Alpinestars, Two Brothers Racing, Rokform, CM Motorsports, Cyco Cycle, Drippin Wet, all the guys at KHI and Team 38 and of course I have to thank God for blessing me with this awesome opportunity to go racing with some amazing people!” You can follow Derek on Twitter @Dkeyes732 as he and Team 38 PS-K compete at this year’s Suzuka 8tai!