From a press release issued by PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse: ROUND TWO FOR LACONI AND TAMADA Phillip Island, Australia, 25 February 2008 Phillip Island in Australia is the venue for round two of the World Superbike Championship on Sunday March 2, only one week after the opener at Losail in Qatar. ROUND TWO FOR LACONI AND TAMADA For the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse Team Losail brought the first points of the campaign but the task ahead at Phillip Island is clear for riders Makoto Tamada and Regis Laconi; find an overall race set-up to match the awesome power output of the 2008 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R racebike. Phillip Island is well-known territory for both Laconi and Tamada, as each has raced at the 4.445km circuit on the very southern tip of the Australian mainland on numerous occasions. At one of the fastest and most demanding circuits imaginable, the ZX-10R is expected to provide the riders with enough power to reach or breach a 320kmph top speed down the Bass Straight, but the usually changeable weather conditions this far south in Australia make most pre race predictions redundant. Both PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse riders tested with their new machines at Phillip Island in January, setting times in the 1’33 bracket. After racing on a Saturday in Qatar, the Australian races take place on Sunday, 2 March. Makoto Tamada “We got the bike set-up better on raceday in Qatar than we did in qualifying, and we hope to make more improvements at Phillip Island. With a decent result in race two at Qatar, I feel we could make more improvements. I certainly hope we can, for everyone in the team.” Régis Laconi “I don’t really want to say too much about Phillip Island in case I spoil my luck, but I hope things will be better for us there. We really want to improve the bike and make it fun to ride, because then we can go faster all through the race. We found improvements in Qatar, and we want to make more steps forward in Australia.” More, from a press release issued by GIL Kawasaki: SUPERSPORT TEAM HEADS DOWN UNDER Phillip Island, Australia, 25 February 2008 After scoring points at Losail last week GIL Kawasaki riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker take their Ninja ZX-6Rs to Phillip Island this weekend. SUPERSPORT TEAM HEADS DOWN UNDER Qualifying proved something of a trial for both riders in the season opener, partly because of the massive grid of well over 30 riders, and partly as each rider is new to the team for 2008. In the race the riders and machines came good, with Walker ninth and Fujiwara 15th. It was Walker’s first ever race in Supersport, making his top ten finish an impressive feat in such a busy and well-equipped grid. The Kawasaki duo have tested at the Australian track in the off season, and conducted long runs to test tyres which delivered reasons to be optimistic when raceday eventually comes around, on Sunday March 2. Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We had a good test at Phillip Island in the winter and we were able to set a fast lap time. I’m looking forward to the race and I will go there and try my best like always.” Chris Walker: “I learned a lot in the Qatar race, and we just have to build on that. I think the biggest thing in these races is to stay calm and let people make mistakes around you. There seem like twice as many competitors on the grid as I am used to seeing and some of them seem to know exactly what they are doing, while others seem less consistent. I think I’m somewhere in the middle! I need to trust in the bike now because it seems capable of a good pace throughout a whole race, more so than one single lap of qualifying. I actually set a better lap in the race at Qatar than I did in qualifying so that was encouraging for the next round in Australia.”