ADSS97 Kawasaki is preparing to take the next step in the FIM Endurance World Championship with maintaining its 100 per cent finishing rate in the series a key target for the British team.
While Chris Platt will continue to double as team owner and rider, Levi Day, Craig Currie and Chris Walker are all new recruits for the 2023 EWC season and will share the squad’s new Superstock-specification, Dunlop-equipped Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R.
In Walker ADSS97 Kawasaki can count on a highly experienced and talented rider. A four-time runner-up in the British Superbike Championship, Walker has been a race winner in the FIM Superbike World Championship.
What an opportunity, said Walker, a 50-year-old from Great Britain. To race within a team full of my pals on a proven bike, the ADSS97 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, and at Le Mans after a 24-year gap is mega. I had always hoped my career would head me back in the direction of endurance racing as it reached its latter years, having enjoyed it so much in the past, but it didn’t quite pan out. A few years in sidecars and the TriOptions Cup, coupled with old age and obesity, sent me down a different path, but the chance to ride in the stock class of the EWC is something I couldn’t turn down. With the help of a few of my old sponsors coming along and supporting the team, I’m back on track, back on a Kwak, back to Le Mans and back on a racer’s regime of training and eating properly. Testing starts in Spain in a matter of days, and I can’t wait.
Briton Platt, 49, said: I’ve competed in all sorts of racing, but I have to say that endurance is one of the friendliest and most supportive paddocks. After cutting our teeth with the UK No Limits Endurance series, we stepped into the EWC paddock in 2021 and have now raced four 24-hour races with a 100 per cent success rate. For 2023, with new bikes, the backing of K-Tech Suspension, a strong team structure and new riders with a great mixture of youth and experience, we’re taking the next step, and I can’t wait to get going.
Australian Day, who has enjoyed significant success in the National Superstock class in the United Kingdom, has previous FIM Endurance World Championship experience but has yet to tackle a 24-hour race. Until now. I’m really looking forward to the Endurance World Championship this year, and it’s something I’ve been keen to get into over the last few years, said Day, 33. I’ve had the pleasure of doing Suzuka and an eight-hour at Estoril a few years ago, so doing the three 24-hour races this year really excites me. It will be something very different to what I’m used to, but I will be working hard to do the best for the team, and I’m looking forward to teaming up with Chris Platt and Chris Walker on the ZX-10R and working together with the team to do our very best. There is a great crew involved, and I’m excited.
Craig Currie, meanwhile, joins ADSS97 Kawsaki as its fourth rider, a role he will combine with competing in the FIM Sidecar World Championship and Isle of Man TT Races.
Ross Burridge, Head of Marketing and Racing Department at Kawasaki UK, said: The ADSS97 Kawasaki team have gone from strength to strength over the past few seasons, and we have been watching their progress closely. With a very strong rider line-up this year, we are sure they will do a great job on the very competitive world stage.
FIM Endurance World Championship 2023 calendar refresher
Round 1: 24 Heures Motos (Circuit Bugatti, Le Mans, France) 13-16 April 2023
Round 2: 24H SPA EWC Motos (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium) 16-18 June 2023
Round 3: Suzuka 8 Hours (Suzuka Circuit, Japan) 4-6 August 2023
Round 4: Bol d’Or 24 hours (Circuit Paul Ricard, France) 14-17 September 2023
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
