KAWASAKI RACING:

Both Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada took their official Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R machines into the Superpole contest today, with Tamada making it to Superpole 2 and securing a fourth row grid slot.

Makoto was 15th in the final pre-race contest of the year, improving five places from his regulation qualifying result. Parkes was unlucky to not make it beyond Superpole 1 and he now starts the 22-lap races on Sunday in 18th place.

Weather conditions have stayed fine throughout practice and qualifying for the finale of the 2009 season, with Broc and Makoto equally determined to score good points in the last races of the year.

Both Tamada and Parkes expect to make improvements again in real race conditions, and Parkes in particular will use warm-up to find set-up improvements to complete the races in good shape at this intense and physical circuit.

Makoto Tamada: “Basically, I have a good feeling on the bike. I am confident in the grip and the handling is quite good. I am also confident in my race pace, so if I get a good start at the very least I will be in the points – but I am aiming for two top ten finishes. That would be a great way to finish my season.”

Broc Parkes: “I didn’t get a very good qualifying lap. I went out, made a mistake, started again and did one more lap, but just an OK lap. I came in to get another tyre but missed my final chance by only two or three seconds. I didn’t really get to do what we could have done. We have been between tenth and 15th all weekend so I think that is a realistic goal for tomorrow. We have a couple of things still to do to tonight to improve the race set-up even more. I think we will all have two long races tomorrow, because it’s hard work at this track. It’s difficult to be consistent as well, so I think that will be the key factor in the race.”