Paul Bird ties up Kawasaki link
Added on Monday, November 10th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
The deal is done.
Paul Bird Motorsport has completed the formalities and will run the official Kawasaki factory entry for the 2009 World Superbikes Championship.
The deal, which was announced last week, was made official today with Paul Bird meeting staff and officials at the Kawasaki Motors Europe UK branch to discuss preparations for next season.
Taking over from San Marino based company PSG-1 Corse, PBM are charged with returning Kawasaki to the front of the field in 2009 after several years of underachievement compared to the likes of Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
Speaking after the deal was signed, Paul Bird admitted that agreeing to become the official flag bearer for Kawasaki was a dream come true.
“Working with a Japanese manufacturer - especially one with the engineering heritage of Kawasaki - was always a dream, but now it is reality. I can still hardly believe it,” he said.
Bird, who has links with Kawasaki from his involvement in Motocross, was also looking forward to working with both the new 2009 Ninja ZX-10R superbike and the latest KX450F four stroke motocross machine.
“I rode Kawasakis in motocross for ten years and won a few Northern Centre Championships along the way,” he added.
“To now be in this position, and having this immense responsibility, has only just started to sink in. I’ve got the team to do the job and, like me, they can’t wait to develop the Ninja ZX-10R into a WSB podium contender.”
Kawasaki European Race Planning Manager Steve Guttridge was also upbeat about the brand’s prospects. “Today was just about the final few issues of our agreement,” he said.
“We have a great deal of respect for what Paul has achieved in racing and his enthusiasm is infectious. Already he has made plans for phase one of an extensive machine development and testing programme which bodes well for the future success of the partnership”.
