update on 2009 ZXRR mtogp bikes and photo

kawasaki is featured on motogp .com and they are talking about improvments to the 2009 ZXRR and private teams getting their hands on some bikes:woohoo: ...check it out...that means kawasakis at the seca gp this year...all is right in the universe once again

Sweet bike! It would be awesome to ride one of them.

i thought kawi had pulled out of moto-gp

timebomb33 wrote:

i thought kawi had pulled out of moto-gp

yeah me too then i read on the motogp site site today that the 2009's were allready built and ready to begin tests at the time kawasaki motors co. bailed out officaly...and some teams may get em to run and that 2009's are superior to last years great motor with stones for tires and stick for suspension bike.....so i guess a lease and limited support program............which might be great...a seabiscuit type thing...before (if you had a team ZXRR)you had to run the bike kawi made pretty much the way they said to!!!!!!..
where as now the team that buys/leases the bike may be free to do a lot more independent development and think outside the box....a cinderella story in the making...should be a fun sidebar to the season...and of course more free kawai motogp posters if you go to the races...YEAH BABY

check it out...that means kawasakis at the seca gp this year...all is right in the universe once again

AND INDY!!

That makes me and my son VERY happy!

in case antone wants a pic of kawis last offical motogp bike.... here is john hopkins on the 2008 ZXRR 800..you can click it to enlarge/print...ect

trianglelaguna wrote:

in case antone wants a pic of kawis last offical motogp bike.... here is john hopkins on the 2008 ZXRR 800..you can click it to enlarge/print...ect

Great pic! Thanks!

Insider sources say engine reliability and a lack of finances will dictate the outcome

ACCORDING TO Visordown's MotoGP insider, Kawasaki is waiting until the end of the month before making a decision on whether or not its 2009 MotoGP bikes will be able to take part in the coming premier class season.
But it seems as though finances may not be the only factor in deciding whether the bikes will be run in the hands of some sort of private set-up on the dwindling grids in 2009 - reliability seems to have a fairly big question mark over the project too.

Our mole tells us that the bikes have been less than reliable during the recent three day tests at Eastern Creek and the next tests at Phillip Island will be where the factory finds out if the green machines can finish a race in 2009.

If there's any doubt then the bikes won't find their way onto the grid, whether in factory or privateer trim.

Hmmmm, interesting...

Kawasaki Not Present At Sepang

Kawasaki's MotoGP program looks another step closer to its demise today. On the eve of the first official MotoGP test at Sepang, various reports are appearing that the green bikes won't be present. After private testing at Eastern Creek and Phillip Island with Olivier Jacque, the Kawasakis have been packed up and most likely shipped back to Japan.

A Kawasaki absence at Sepang almost certainly means the attempts to keep their MotoGP program alive will have failed. Deadlines have come and gone with no official word on the outcome of the talks being held. Team boss Michael Bartholemy flew out to Japan for talks with Kawasaki bosses two weeks ago, and a decision was expected last Wednesday. Then, rumors emerged that the decision had been postponed until February 2nd, which came and went again with no word.

The latest rumors surrounding the situation are taken from Marco Melandri's Facebook status updates, suggesting that the Italian has a "big meeting" today, Wednesday, though the Italian was less forthcoming on what the meeting might be about. There has been talk that Melandri has been offered a buyout of his contract, which would allow him to ride another bike, and this could be related to the "meeting" Macio refers to on his Facebook page.

John Hopkins, meanwhile, is filling his days with a road trip across the US, according to MCN. The American has been spotted at an AMA Supercross event, but did not speak to reporters there. Earlier rumors that Hopper could be about to sign for Stiggy Motorsports in World Superbikes have been denied by the team boss, Johan Stigefelt.


www.motogpmatters.com/news/2009/02/04/ka...esent_at_sepang.html

Kawasaki To Come Back Under Another Name?

The Kawasaki saga just refuses to lay down and die. As silence continues to envelop the project, and most parties regarding Kawasaki's participation in MotoGP as being consigned to the history books, fresh rumblings are starting to appear. The usually well-informed Italian site GPOne.com is reporting that the bikes will now be appearing on the grid, but without the Kawasaki name on their tanks.

The program would not be run by Michael Bartholemy, however. The Belgian had been in extensive talks with Kawasaki, and had come tantalisingly close to a deal. But though the Akashi factory had been supportive of Bartholemy's efforts, in the end, the deal fell through.

Instead, according to GPOne.com, it is Carmelo Ezpeleta himself who has picked up the gauntlet. The Spaniard is apparently working directly with the team to get the bikes back on the grid, though no details of riders, team personnel or any other information is available at the moment.

The likelihood is, however, that these rumblings are little more than wild fantasy. Ezpeleta has a vested interest in having the world believe that he will have a full grid (in the case of MotoGP, that would mean at least 18 bikes), and so leaks to the press about a rescue package should be taken with a pinch of salt. As for whether the Kawasakis (or whatever they get called in the end) actually line up at Qatar or not, we can only echo the words of GPOne's Alberto Cani: "We shall see..."

www.motogpmatters.com/news/2009/02/08/ka...er_another_name.html

At a meeting of the Grand Prix Commission on Wednesday a number of rule changes have been made with immediate affect, ahead of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship.

At the headquarters of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in Geneva, Switzerland, in the presence of FIM president Vito Ippolito, the Grand Prix Commission ratified proposals put forward and agreed on unanimously by the MSMA in meetings held earlier this year in Japan and Malaysia.

The amendments to the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations address issues raised over the cost of competing in the championship with regards to the 2009 MotoGP season and beyond.

As of the 2009 season Friday morning free practice sessions for all classes have been removed from the Grand Prix schedules and all MotoGP practice sessions (including qualifying) have been reduced to 45 minutes in length.

Electronic and hydraulic launch control systems and electronic suspension systems have been banned.

Furthermore, in the eight 2009 MotoGP World Championship races which follow the summer break, commencing with the 14th-16th August trip to the Czech track of Brno, each MotoGP rider will be restricted to the use of a maximum of five engines until the end of the season

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Italian rider motivated to show potential in 2009, having cancelled Kawasaki contract.


Marco Melandri will contest the 2009 season as a Hayate Racing rider in a single-rider, single-year deal, the Italian has confirmed to motogp.com. His previous two-year contract with Kawasaki has been torn up and a new agreement hastily arranged in time for the start of the coming season, one in which he will ride a Ninja ZX-RR with no further factory development.

“The contract with Kawasaki has been cancelled. I had to make a big financial sacrifice, but the most important thing that I wanted was to find trust,” he said on Thursday morning, just over a week on from his first testing appearance of 2009 in Qatar.

“I have nothing to lose. One month ago I had one foot outside the World Championship, and now I have a team that is working solely for me. My motivation is this, and to show Kawasaki that they made a mistake in choosing to pull out their factory support.”

His future confirmed, next on Melandri’s agenda is finding solutions to some of the problems experienced in Qatar. Although he was some way off the fastest riders at the test, the Hayate Racing man has pinpointed what he thinks are the big factors slowing him down. He put 80% of the time differential down to a rear grip issue that has been a persistent thorn in the side of those riding the Ninja ZX-RR, a difficulty that he admits may not be resolved within the month.

“We weren’t fast in Qatar; that’s a fact. The bike did make a good impression on me though. I don’t know how much it will be possible to improve it before the start of the season, but the team have assured me that they will be making a big effort until the end of March,” the former World Championship runner-up continued.

Melandri has experienced two difficult seasons with Honda and Ducati, respectively, in 2007-2008. Vocal about any disappointments and brutally honest, much interest will focus on how he reacts to a bike with which he does not expect to be pushing for the podium, but for the moment he is not looking too far ahead.

“I’ve heard about not getting any factory support, but I believe in the work that has been done up to now. If the bike improves then I think that I can keep up. Obviously if I’m coming in last every Sunday then it will be hard to deal with, but I don’t want to think so far into the future.”


TAGS