Kawasaki Motors Racing
Kawasaki Motors Racing was the European subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine, located in the Netherlands. It was responsible for managing the racing activities of the MotoGP team.
| 2008 name | Kawasaki Racing Team |
|---|---|
| Base | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Principal | Managing Director: Yoshio Kawamura Racing Director: Ichiro Yoda Competition Manager: Michael Bartholemy |
| Rider(s) | 13 Anthony West 21 John Hopkins |
| Motorcycle | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R |
| Tyres | Bridgestone |
| Riders' Championships | - |
| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Granollers, Spain |
Key people | General Manager: Guim Roda Crew Chiefs: Pere Riba, Marcel Duinker Riders for 2023: Jonathan Rea, Alex Lowes (World Superbikes) |
| Parent | Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine |
| Website | Kawasaki Racing Team by Provec Racing |
The subsidiary was established in 2007 as a result of the Japanese manufacturer's necessary split from Harald Eckl's organisation, who managed the Kawasaki MotoGP team since 2002. The reason for the split was Eckl's involvement with a competitor's MotoGP activities, which forced Kawasaki to terminate the relationship immediately. For the first time since Kawasaki returned to the premier class of motorcycle racing, the team became a complete ‘in house’ factory team.
On January 9, 2009, Kawasaki announced it had decided to "suspend its MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season onward and reallocate management resources more efficiently". The company stated that it will continue racing activities using mass-produced motorcycles as well as supporting general race oriented consumers. The emphasis was subsequently placed on World Superbike Championship racing using the Kawasaki ZX-10R road bike as a basis, with Paul Bird Motorsport (2009-2011) and Provec Racing, based in Granollers, Barcelona Province, Spain from 2012, together with World Supersport 300 from 2019 to 2021.