From a press release:

KAWASAKI ROAD RACING ANNOUNCES THIRD RIDER FOR 2002 TEAM

Young privateer Tony Meiring to campaign a NINJA® ZX-6R in the 600 class

IRVINE, Calif. (December 6, 2001) — Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., today announced that former privateer Tony Meiring will join Team Kawasaki Road Racing, along with reigning AMA 600 SuperSport Champion Eric Bostrom and recently signed Tommy Hayden. Together with Hayden, 18-year-old Meiring will contest the highly competitive 600 SuperSport class only.

Although this is Meiring’s first factory-supported ride, the northern Californian is no stranger to racing. His first ride was on an off-road machine at the age of 2, and by the time he turned 4 years old he was racing dirt-track. Meiring has racked up at least a dozen national and regional dirt-track championships, and in 1999 he earned the AMA’s prestigious Horizon Award, which honors the most promising of up-and-coming racers.

Having achieved his dirt-track goals, Meiring expanded his racing horizons by turning to road racing. As a privateer with his father as his mechanic, Meiring honed his pavement skills and accumulated numerous podium finishes while competing at the club level. In 2001, he contested the AMA’s 750 SuperSport class, still as a privateer, and he finished sixth overall and captured two podium spots–-one at Laguna Seca and one at Brainerd. Said Meiring: “My goals were to learn the AMA racetracks, and finish in the top 10 in the 750 SuperSport class. This being my rookie year, I am very pleased with my accomplishments. But I’m definitely planning to improve in 2002.”

Meiring added, “I’ve been racing for 14 years, and I’m really excited to have an opportunity to work with this championship-winning team. I can’t wait to do some laps on the ZX-6R. It’s such a great bike and Eric did such an amazing job last year, I only hope that I can progress to that level.”

Likewise, Team Manager Mike Preston is also excited about the upcoming season. He enthused, “We’re excited to have a young rider who shows such a lot of talent and potential. We’re looking to build future champions for years to come.”

(Editor’s note: Young Meiring’s deal with Kawasaki was put together by Jeff Haney of OMS Ltd.)