…in the shadow of Barcelona’s Montjuic Park when the British duo of Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea where unveiled as well as the 2015 Ninja ZX-10R to a sizeable crowd…

In the lavish theatrical setting of the ‘Mercat De Les Flors’ (complete with towering dome) the team made their official presentation where they are expected to again be championship candidates with two of the fastest riders on the grid. KRT are well-supported in their WSBK efforts by the likes of Motocard (local accessories and apparel dealer), Elf and now Monster Energy and are perhaps the squad with the closest direct links to the KHI Japanese HQ. It gives them virtual factory status and the opulence of the Catalan setting in Barcelona and the attention given to the 2015 ceremony proved the high level at which Kawasaki are now operating in Superbike since abandoning their MotoGP project at the end of the last decade.

“We couldn’t be any more proud to be associated with this team and they are by far our most professional and really represent the premier level of our promotion as a company,’ said Kawasaki Motor Europe’s Racing Manager Steve Guttridge. “Jonathan has already bonded with the bike and of course everyone knows Tom as Mr Kawasaki.”

The aforementioned Sykes was interviewed first on stage where he explained 2015 would be his sixth year in green (and since signing a new contract last summer) and bookended the controversial 2014 campaign that culminated in acrimony with outgoing team-mate Loris Baz at Qatar by saying last season was merely a “big disappointment”. Sykes also alluded to the fact that KRT have been in a title winning position for three years now and 2015 would be a “challenge” with the small change to the technical regulations.

New recruit Rea was next up and refreshingly honest with his words. Not only when it came to the sensitive subject of relations with his team-mate (‘the guy next to you is the ass you want to kick the most”) but also his immediate perspective chances on the Ninja following a long–term association with Honda. “The bike is really competitive but it has taken time to understand it and all of the possibilities,” he commented. “After all the tests I hope that at Phillip Island we will be able to give a good account of ourselves.”

After a stream of speeches (including a Catalan commerce puff presentation that was barely relevant but to be expected at these kinds of events) the two racers lifted the box off the curiously front-heavy styled ZX and then were swamped by local press and a notable presence from SBK promoters Dorna.

Round one of the 2015 SBK calendar takes place in just two weeks time at Phillip Island in Australia.

Photo by Graeme Brown