2011 ZX-10R racer unveiled
Kawasaki has pulled the wraps of its new WBSK contender, the 2011 ZX-10R. All we need now is the production bike...The covers have been lifted off the next generation Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R race bike, which will contest the 2011 World Superbike Championship.
Showing off Pirelli slicks, Brembo brakes, and an aggressive but compact fairing design, the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team is upbeat about its new bike, saying the new race bike "will mark a new start for Kawasaki in the World Superbike Championship."
"From 2011, the Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team will receive more means and more support from the mother company in Japan," read a media statement released by the Japanese company, signalling its intent to reach the pointy end of the field in 2011.
Former MotoGP rider Chris Vermeulen will be racing the green-liveried Kawasaki Ninja race bike in 2011, the Australian currently convalescing after re-injuring his right knee.
Kawasaki took the covers off the new WSBK motorcycle at the Nürburgring in Germany, ahead of last weekend's race meet, and has indicated that the "next opportunity to be eye-to-eye with the new Ninja ZX-10R race bike will be the Intermot show in Cologne, starting the 6th of October."
One of the clearest observations we can make from these detailed new photos of the race bike, which is based on the road-going ZX-10R, is its compact design. With a potentially shorter wheelbase than its predecessor, and most definitely a more powerful engine - singing to the tune of around 190hp (140kW) - the 2011 Ninja ZX-10R is sharper in almost every dynamic respect.
Viewed from the front, the green machine sports a repositioned ram air intake, which now sits lower and further forward in the front cowling, closer to undisturbed airflow which should improve its top end.
The company has high hopes for its new steed, which begins its European testing after the Nürburgring round of the WSBK Championship.
But will improved sales result from improved performance on the track? The motorcycle maker is banking on it: "Kawasaki is a racing company and the Ninja brand has a solid racing history and pedigree. The new machine will give Kawasaki the possibility to revive the image of being a successful racing company as the company already shows in so many other of motorcycle racing categories within which Kawasaki competes today," declared the company in a press statement.
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