KAWASAKI RACING:

Broc Parkes rode hard for little reward at the Nürburgring WSB event, falling in race one and finishing race two 13th. His team-mate Makoto Tamada found himself unable to compete in the races.  Parkes was taken out of the first attempted start of the day, in an incident in which his team-mate Tamada was also knocked off by another rider. The Japanese star was undergoing medical checks for a mild head knock when the race was started for a second time. Parkes restarted race one on his spare bike, but fell on lap three.

In the second race of the day, again over 20 laps, Parkes had to ride with a less than ideal set-up on his rebuilt bike and finished with only three points to show for his efforts. Tamada was prevented from riding in race two by the event medical staff; despite feeling he was able to compete at full fitness.

In the standings, Parkes is still 18th overall, with Tamada 27th after another tough weekend for the determined duo.

Broc Parkes: “The races didn’t go our way at all. In race one I was knocked off my bike by another rider early on. I was able to restart on my second bike but I wasn’t comfortable with the settings and lost the front after running wide early on in the restarted race. In race two, I wanted to get some points in and to make up for race one but having had three crashes over the weekend, it meant that my bike set-up wasn’t perfect, so I really struggled with rear grip, so I wasn’t able to improve on my starting position. I want to put this weekend behind me and to focus on a good result in Imola at the next round.”

Makoto Tamada: “I was happy with the bike set-up and my qualifying position this weekend but had some very bad luck once again which meant I was not able to finish a race. I had a good feeling on the bike with the swing arm improvements and the braking stability was also much better. In race one I was forced to run on by someone in turn one and was hit again from behind by another rider, which put me out of the race. I didn’t suffer any serious injuries but knocked my head a little. I was taken to hospital as a precaution and for further tests but I was hoping that I could make a full restart for race two. But this wasn’t to be, despite me feeling OK. I was declared unfit by the doctor so had to watch the race from the garage which was really disappointing for me and the team as they worked really hard to repair my bikes in time for race two. All I can say is that I’m looking forward to some better luck for the Imola race in a few weeks time.”