Kawasaki Motors Australia press release:

Luke Burgess of the Kawasaki Motors Finance Racing Team has maintained his championship lead in the Kawasaki Insurances FX300 Ninja Cup, after round three of the Swan Insurances Australasian Superbike Championship held at Sydney Motorsport Park.

As usual, the Kawasaki Insurances FX300 Ninja Cup made for exhilarating racing over the weekend with more riders starting on the grid than any other class in the series.

Luke Burgess was hoping to capitalise on the 4 kilos he had lost in preparation for the round. Luke Managed a podium finish in each race with a 3rd, 2nd and 3rd place throughout the day. “I was after a win in each race but it didn’t pan out that way today. Overall I gained some valuable championship points and racing is about focusing on the long term result as well as the instant results so I am happy with how we went this weekend,” commented Luke. Luke Burgess extended his championship lead to 179 points after the weekends racing on the Kawasaki Ninja 300.

Wildcard Ninja 300 rider for the Kawasaki Motors Finance Racing Team, Jeff Ware, relished the competition, fun and excitement that he had while racing in the Kawasaki Insurances FX300 Ninja Cup over the weekend. “It was a great weekend on the Kawasaki Motors Finance Ninja 300. I started off well on Friday during practice and I was happy to get my lap time down after every session on the track,” said Jeff.

By Friday afternoon Jeff had qualified 3rd in the seniors class. Jeff rounded off his weekend with a 3rd, 4th and 2nd in each race respectively and he came away with 2nd overall for the third round of the Swan Insurance FX300 Ninja Cup. “It was great fun mixing it with the younger riders. I found myself riding with gun riders in the FOB (seniors) class who were exceptional riders from back in their day. The Kawasaki Insurances Ninja FX300 Class is the best production class we’ve had for years. It’s a very cost effective way to start racing and I think this class lends its self to mastering racecraft,” Jeff Commented.

Julie Klinker managed a solid 2nd place overall behind Keegan Pickering in the FX300 Ladies class of Ninja 300 racing over the weekend. Julie had joined the series midyear in 2014, and had only seen the track 5 times before then. “I’m improving every time I get on the track. Recently I have been focusing on braking, especially in the corners which is the challenging thing because it’s different to riding on the road. My team manager, Mark Watson, is one of my mentors and he has been helping me with some great advice and training this year” commented Julie.

Julie managed to enter the sport of competitive motorcycle racing effortlessly saying, “I got into racing when I rode to South Australia from Sydney. I was coming through Victoria when the superbikes were on and I met some people on the way down there and one of the girls knew my team manager Mark, so she recommended me and here I am. When I got a taste of I didn’t look back. I want to keep racing in the Kawasaki Insurances Ninja FX300 Cup for a couple of years. Eventually I’d like to go up to a 600cc bike but I think the Kawasaki Ninja 300 has a lot of power for me at the moment” Julie said.

Due to high demand, Kawasaki Merchandise will now be available at each round of the Australasian Superbike Championship this year. The official ASC merchandise stand will be selling Kawasaki merchandise including Bar Runners, Stubby Coolers, Adult and Youth Backpacks plus genuine Kawasaki Racing Team caps. Kawasaki merchandise is also available from your nearest Kawasaki dealership. Find out more information on Kawasaki merchandise by following this link – http://kawasaki.com.au/accessories-live-search

The next round of the Australasian Superbike Championship will be held at Queensland Raceway from August 14th to 16th 2015.