Newcomer and new Kawasaki come good

Article from http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/6971-newcomer-and-new-kawasaki-come-good.html

Following his lengthy recovery from a massive accident while a Supersport World Championship rider last year at Silverstone, Joan Lascorz is now almost back to full fitness, while after a long period of preparation and testing the all-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is showing a lot of promise. In the hands of rookie WSBK rider Lascorz, it only took until the second round of the year to show that man and machine are valuable additions to the overall contest.

First time out in Australia Lascorz demonstrated he had some good pace in his locker, but his right arm was not recovered enough to allow him to race at full pace causing him to have a double no score. At Donington last weekend Joan still had some issues with strength and endurance in race one, but an intense session with his physical trainer and then some small but key changes to his machine set-up allowed him and the new Kawasaki to join the top five club very early in the season. With seven competitive manufacturers in the class this year that was no mean feat, and a good omen not only for Joan but for all five regular Kawasaki riders in the championship this year.

Joan stated, "Things were better in the second race than the first. I made a change for the second race and from the beginning the bike was very easy and the tyre did not want to spin so much. The team did a good job so I am very happy to take a fifth place. It was also easier for me to ride in the second race, despite my old shoulder injury, because my physical trainer worked on it, loosened it up and I had no arm pump in race two. There has obviously been a big improvement since Australia. Two races in the points and a top five, not a bad end to the weekend."

Joan is now working to be fully fit and prepared to the next round, at Assen, on 17 April.