An announcement made by Kawasaki Japan today confirmed that the
long awaited return of the famous lime-green bikes back into GP
racing will happen sooner rather than later. The fourth of the
Japanese major motorcycle manufacturers to confirm their interest
in MotoGP, Kawasaki were expected by all to wait until 2003 before
taking their place in the world's most prestigious motorcycle
competition, MotoGP. However, it has now been announced that the
firm plan to run a prototype four-stroke bike in certain rounds of
the All-Japan Road-Racing Championships and more importantly at
specific events in the 2002 MotoGP World Championship
calendar.
Work on the 'in-line four' machine is currently in progress, and
2002 as a whole is seen as a development year by the factory, with
any participation in the events being on purely an experimental
basis. The rider at these races would be official Kawasaki tester
for this project, Akira Yanagawa, who rode the green liveried
ZX-7RR in the World Superbike Championships last year.
The news that Kawasaki will run their new four-stroke at several
events in the Japanese national competition comes as little shock
following Suzuki's decision last week that its two main riders Ryo
and Kagayama will ride the XREO prototype in the same series as
part of its development programme. However, the fact that the
Kawasaki will definitely be present at some of the later MotoGP
events in 2002, is terrific news for both the competition and the
fans, who will undoubtedly be delighted to see the return of the
Japanese bikes after an absence of 20 years from the premier
road-racing class. It has not yet been determined which events they
will compete in, as any decision depends on the development made
throughout this year.
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