Kawasaki Racing Team: Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore release

Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking each had separate issues at Misano on raceday and as a consequence neither rider was able to take a points scoring finish, despite occasional bright showings in practice.

The first 24-lap race of the day saw the first use of the flag-to-flag rules in World Superbike, as the race started out on a wet track but got drier as the time went on, meaning almost every rider changed their machine in the middle of the race. Hacking was 16th in the opener, and Parkes 17th.

In the second race, run in dry conditions throughout, the team’s riders could not replicate or improve their best lap times from practice, and thus Parkes was disappointed in finishing 17th again; Hacking even more so to be 22nd.

In the championship chase Parkes remains 18th and Hacking 20th.

Broc Parkes: “It’s been a mixed bag kind of weekend for me. I was happy with Friday’s fifth place but we struggled in Superpole to get a flying lap in and I missed sector two for the first time this year. The rain in race one obviously made conditions really difficult and we chose the wrong tyre, so I really struggled with grip as it dried up. By the time I changed tyres it was too late to make up any major ground. In race two I got a bad start and I still didn’t feel like we had the right direction on the bike so really struggled in the corners. We tried so many things over the weekend but with little improvement. Battling in 17th place is really disappointing for me and the team so I can only hope that we have a better race in Donington.”

Jamie Hacking: “In the first race I wasn’t clear on the rules regarding the tyres as in the States the tyres you start on are the one’s you finish on so I didn’t see the board telling me to pit until it was too late. That was really disappointing as I felt we could finish at least in the top ten. In race two I got a decent start but I tried to go a bit steady into the corners when it was crowded, so I didn’t make the same mistake as in Miller. I lost some places so I was pushing hard and unfortunately ran into the back of someone later on and went off track. I was trailing in last and I could move only a few places forward. I’m really disappointed for the team and for myself and I just hope that I can make up some ground at the Donington race.”