Eric Bostrom and three-time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler helped Preston achieve the goals he set for Kawasaki Road Racing?s debut season, and more. Bostrom and Chandler finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Superbike Championship with Bostrom scoring the team?s single victory in the penultimate round at Pikes Peak International Raceway. In the 600cc SuperSport class Bostrom won the second round on the new-for-2000 Ninja® ZX-6R sportbike and was a title contender throughout the series. He added another win and tied in points for the championship, but lost the tie-breaker in the final race.
While Kawasaki Road Racing achieved its goals in 2000, Preston and the team felt a bit empty at season?s end.
?I?m extremely happy with the Kawasaki Road Racing staff and riders; we accomplished what we set out to do at the beginning of the season,? said Preston. ?But at the same time we feel there?s some unfinished business to take care of after coming so close to winning the 600cc SuperSport Championship. Winning championships is Kawasaki Road Racing?s ultimate goal, and we can never be completely satisified unless we win a title.?
Kawasaki?s performance in Superbike racing is legendary. Kawasaki riders have won a record nine AMA Superbike titles, the most Superbike championships held by a single manufacturer.
Three of those championships were won by Doug Chandler, which included back-to-back titles in 1996-?97 as well as the 1990 crown. One of the premier veterans of Superbike racing, Chandler started 2000 strong with a podium finish in the Daytona 200 but then struggled to find a chassis set-up to match his particular riding style.
?Toward the end of the season we got him going better, and during winter testing he was going very good again,? said Preston. ?At the Dunlop tire test at Daytona he showed he?s capable of matching anyone?s speed. We want to help him earn a fourth title in 2001.?
At 35 years of age, the Salinas, Calif., native is one of the most experienced riders on the track. His smooth, precise riding style often masks his incredible speed, and in 2001 Chandler will seek his record-breaking fourth AMA Superbike Championship. He currently shares the record for most titles by a rider with Fred Merkel and Reg Pridmore.
Ace tuner Gary Medley returns as Chandler?s crew chief. Medley was the primary technician on Chandler?s 1996-?97 championship-winning Ninja ZX-7R-based Superbikes. He was also behind Kawasaki?s 1992 AMA Superbike Championship and its 1993 World Superbike crown, as well as a pair of 750cc SuperSport titles in 1991-?92.
Last year was critical for Eric Bostrom. Coming off a difficult ?99 season, Bostrom joined the upstart Kawasaki Road Racing team and found himself on an unfamiliar motorcycle with a brand new team.
But Bostrom quickly got up to speed, was a contender for the 600cc SuperSport title and came very close to winning the crown. Bostrom also steadily improved on his Ninja ZX-7R based Superbike and won the penultimate round at Pikes Peak International Raceway.
?He matured quicker than we expected,? said Preston. ?Now that he?s had a year of riding the Kawasaki sportbikes, he should be a threat to win both the Superbike and SuperSport titles in 2001.?
As in 2000, Bostrom will once again campaign both classes with Al Ludington as crew chief, while Chandler will concentrate solely on the Superbike class. They will both ride the championship-proven Ninja ZX-7R based Superbike, while Bostrom will campaign the highly acclaimed Ninja ZX-6R in the 600cc SuperSport class.
Now that Kawasaki Road Racing has a year of experience behind it, Preston believes the team will be even stronger in 2001.
?We will be more focused on racing and won?t have the distractions we had as a start-up team,? said Preston, a long-term member of Kawasaki?s Research and Development department who served as the Team Kawasaki JET SKI® personal watercraft racing manager upon its inception in 1995 and guided his watercraft teams to championships in all but one of his five seasons. ?We should be able to focus our attention on getting the most out of our Kawasaki motorcycles.
?As Kawasaki Road Racing improved over the past year my expectations and goals for the team have changed,? added Preston. ?I expect Kawasaki Road Racing to be fighting for two championships in 2001. After last year, we?ve proven we?re serious contenders.?
