Canadian Kawasaki Outsourcing 2010 Racing Progam

COMPETITION SYSTEMS TO RUN KAWASAKI TEAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, Ont. (January 13) – Canadian Kawasaki Motors has secured the 
services of Toronto-based Competition Systems to handle Kawasaki’s assault 
in the 2010 Parts Canada Superbike Championship. The team will consist of 
one rider and focus exclusively on the Superbike feature class with 
Kawasaki’s potent Ninja ZX-10R.
The new entity will be called Competition Systems Kawasaki Race 
Team.
For the past several years, Canadian Kawasaki Motors has run its 
national road race program in-house. Last summer the squad claimed its 
fourth straight titles in the Parts Canada Superbike and Yoshimura Pro Sport 
Bike divisions.
Mike Crompton of Competition Systems has been the crew chief for 
the Kawasaki program through its run of success and will now take over as 
team owner of the new race program. Some of the existing crew will continue 
with the team and a rider and sponsors will be announced within a few days.
“Due to a number of circumstances we have decided to suspend 
activities with our factory program for 2010,” said Jeff Comello of Canadian 
Kawasaki Motors. “But despite this state of change we have tried to keep as 
much continuity as possible and Mike Crompton and Competition Systems are 
the perfect fit. We have been together now for four-plus years and have 
enjoyed a great deal of success.”
     Crompton has some 40 years of experience in the Canadian motorcycle 
industry, supplying engines and race equipment to some of the country’s 
leading competitors.
     “Canadian Kawasaki Motors is a great company and I’m looking forward 
to this,” Crompton said. “We already have a good team structure and 
equipment. We’ve spent a number of years building this program and all we 
have to do is just continue what we’ve started.”
     The agreement between Canadian Kawasaki Motors and Competition Systems 
is for one year and will be re-evaluated at the end of the 2010 racing 
season.
     “Kawasaki is committed to showcasing the Ninja brand in competition 
and we feel strongly that we need to be behind the Parts Canada Superbike 
Championship,” Comello said. “This is the perfect venue for us to display 
our products.”
     “We all have to dig deep and support the series,” Crompton added. “It 
is important to do what we can to have a successful 2010 and build on that 
for 2011 and beyond.”
     In addition to claiming the past four Parts Canada Superbike titles 
Canadian Kawasaki Motors enjoyed a string of nine straight national 
championships from 1991 to 1999, and also claimed the first two Canadian 
crowns in 1980 and ’81 with riders George Morin and Lang Hindle, 
respectively.
     The 2010 Parts Canada Superbike Championship opens May 28-30 at 
Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que.

For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com

Two Wheel Tuesday Brno WSS Last Lap

The last lap of the World Supersport race from Brno this past weekend was just about one for the ages!  Want to show people why motorcycle racing is SO much better than cage racing, this would be a good place to start.  Maybe not as good the the Assen WSS race last year, but still quite good.

RumblestripRadio #95

Time for a little cross promotion.  It’s been a while but a new episode of RumblestripRadio is now posted.  It features and extend conversation with Chris Jonnum, the Editor of Road Racer X.

Check it out at www.rumblestripradio.com remember to subscribe to the show via iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Two Wheel Tuesday: Two Strokes Rule!!

Many people who have followed me from “back in the day” of Rumblestrip.net and over the last 3+ years know that I’m a two stroke snob.  There are few things that I love more than a two stroke at full song.  

Over the last couple years I’ve also grown to really like this late 60’s early 70’s Cafe Racer movement.  While this bike isn’t exactly what I had in mind, it would be a great platform to pull it off.

2009 BSB Series Set To Launch

Once again for 2009 the British Superbike Series looks to be the premier domestic Superbike series in the world.  With many of last years championship contenders now gone to World Superbike and Supersport, there are many names looking to step up and take the title.  Leon Camier looks to be a favorite, along with Sylvan Guintoli joining the series from MotoGP and the return of Chris “Stalker” Walker to the series as well.

With the American Superbikes series becoming a joke, do to the organizers, not the level of talent, the BSB series will be a can’t miss for those of us here in The States.  Have a look at the official launch video for the BSB Series.

And as OBTW, the BSB series will have 55 hours of LIVE TV coverage.  Live racing, what a novel concept.  Hello SPEED/DMG!!!!

Two Wheel Tuesday Toby & Julian Announce Duck Racing

A BRILLIANT promo put out by British Eurosport to promote the return of the MotoGP season.  As many of you may know, at the end of last season it was announced by DORNA that British Eurosport would not be offered a contract to continue it’s coverage and that for the UK, it would be covered exclusively by “The Beeb”

This was a HUGE shocker to everyone as even “The Beeb” acknowledged that they wouldn’t and couldn’t offer the same level of coverage that British Eurosport had.  On top of that the triumvirate of Moody, Ryder and Mamola were recognized BY EVERYONE as THE BEST broadcast team in the business.  Even His Holiness Pope Valentino the 46th ordained a day of fasting and prayer that this team was being banished by DORNA.

Thankfully a public outcry from around the world has fixed most of this.  Toby and Julian will be back again, sadly sans Mamola, and they will not be at every race, but doing some of the long flyaway races for the studios in the UK.  Better this than nothing at all I say!

With that I give you this gem that was shown after GP Zero at Jerez this past Sunday, and in a conversation with Toby on Monday he said there are more of these come come, and from the description he gave me, they only get better!!

An Irish Two Wheel Tuesday

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone!

So in the spirit of everyone being Irish for a day, how about featuring a real Irishman.  Eugene Laverty brought home the first win ever for the Parkalgar Honda team in Qatar this past Saturday, it was a fantastic race and here is the last lap.

Spies Shows He’s The Real Deal

Time for another edition of Two Wheel Tuesday.

The opening weekend for the World Superbikes at Philip Island was a cracker, and Ben Spies showed the world that he wasn’t just hype.  The Supersport race was outstanding as well, but as an American I had to jump up and wave the flag after the finish of round two.

Sorry that you have to listen to Johnathan Greene rather than Bernakle and Whitham.

Philip Island Classic

In the late 90’s MotoGP was on a downswing and World Superbikes were THE big thing in motorcycle racing.  With the 2009 season just a couple days away from kicking off, how about a look back at one of the classic WSBK races from Philip Island.  Race 2 from 1997