KAWASAKI RACING:

Broc Parkes overcame a qualifying position of 18th in race one at Imola to take a fine tenth place and went on to score a point in race two as well. This was his third top ten of the 2009 season.

The Australian rider was involved in a multi-rider fight which stretched from eighth to 13th at some points, providing him with a busy and ultimately rewarding first race experience.

Tamada was a faller in race one, after a collision with another rider in at a chicane, leaving Makoto with another concussion. He was taken to hospital for checks, and was ruled out of a second race start today. He was kept in hospital for observation, but was later released to return to the track.

In race two Broc was unable to get away in a good position and had to fight hard to get into the points scoring places, taking 15th place and a lone point. He is still 18th in the championship standings, now with 41 points.

Broc Parkes: “Changing direction was not the best and we started from the fifth row. In the first race I got off OK and I caught the bunch in front and made some passes. We kept the pace so the bike was working quite well, right to the end. In the second race I got boxed in on the second corner and I changed the bike set-up between races, but I didn’t have quite as much side grip. I think we have come away with a little better result than we may have done.”

Makoto Tamada: “I have once again had terribly bad luck during the weekend which started in qualifying. I was unlucky to miss my fastest lap during qualifying, which would have got me into Superpole. And I was taken out mid way through race one by an Italian wildcard rider on the last chicane which meant I didn’t finish any races again. The only lucky thing from this weekend is that I wasn’t seriously injured as this was a very big crash and I don’t remember a thing. I’m not 100% sure if I will be able to ride in Magny Cours as I have had several injuries to the head this season so I’m feeling very disheartened and I really hope that I get some luck to finish of the season on a higher note.”