Press Release: Kawasaki Pulls Out of AMA Pro Racing

[UFO]

This has made the rounds for the past day or so, but here's the official press release.  Sad time for racing....



IRVINE, Calif. (Dec. 18, 2009) — Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. announced the company will not participate in the AMA Pro Racing road racing series in 2010.

"While we've always considered road racing an integral part of our sportbike development process, the realities of the current economic situation dictate the temporary suspension of our U.S. road racing activities," said Bruce Stjernstrom, marketing director.

Kawasaki's long history of successful road racing includes 20 AMA series championships. Among the many champions who have worn the Kawasaki lime green racing leathers are Reg Pridmore, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Miguel Duhamel, Scott Russell, Doug Chandler, Eric Bostrom and more recently Tommy Hayden and Roger Hayden.
"We expect to see eventual improvements in the general economic condition and Kawasaki will reevaluate its road racing position as we monitor those issues," said Stjernstrom.

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) markets and distributes Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft, utility vehicles and recreation utility vehicles through a network of more than 1,475 independent retailers, with an additional 8,000 retailers specializing in Kawasaki power products and general purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 3,300 people in the United States, with 400 of them located at KMC's Irvine, California headquarters.

Kawasaki’s tagline,”Let the good times roll,” is recognized worldwide. The Kawasaki brand has become synonymous with powerful, stylish motorcycles for over four decades. Information about Kawasaki’s complete line of recreational products and Kawasaki affiliates can be found on the Internet at www.kawasaki.com.

[scottzilla]

Kawasaki seems to have pulled out of all racing.

[marc11]

They haven't really won on Sunday in order to sell on Monday in a while, save for some success in the 600 class the past few years in the AMA.  Last win I can recall in MotoGP was a rain win in Shanghai I think with Randy "I like to bin it for no reason" D.P. and I cannot recall them winning anything in WSBK in years.

So maybe it makes sense to stop dumping money they don't have into racing for now?  Don't know, I wonder, how much does racing really equate to sales?  Don't know, but I do know keeping up with the Jones's with a new 600 and 1000 super sport every two years has to be expensive and probably not profitable.

[motociclista]

Don't know, I wonder, how much does racing really equate to sales?

According to Don Brown, Kawasaki sold more sportbikes* in the U.S. this year than Honda, Suzuki or Yamaha, though Kawasaki didn't have any racing success to boost those sales. Racing success burnishes the brand, but I question whether it's the deciding factor in more than a small percentage of sales.


* The caveat here is that I'm not sure about classification of bikes. That number could be affected by including quite a few Ninja 250s, for example.

[DogBoy]

Kawasaki has never won in 990 or 800cc era of MotoGP. DePuniet did get a podium in the rain once. Chris Walker won at Assn in WSBK two or three years ago in a rain race but their 1000cc WSBK effort has always struggled. Joan Lascorz ran up front quite a bit last year in WSS on the ZX6R.

[marc11]

Kawasaki has never won in 990 or 800cc era of MotoGP. DePuniet did get a podium in the rain once. Chris Walker won at Assn in WSBK two or three years ago in a rain race but their 1000cc WSBK effort has always struggled. Joan Lascorz ran up front quite a bit last year in WSS on the ZX6R.

Ah yes, you are right...funny  podium is a win in my mind for Kawi in MotoGP I suppose.

[rajflyboy]

Kawasaki has done well in Supercross/Motocross.  

What is going to happen to Roger Hayden and Jamie Hacking ????

[Gee-Tee]

The state of US racing is due to the ass-clowns at DMG. Once totally destroyed, OEM's, team owners and riders will put it all right again.

[scottzilla]

Kawasaki pulled out of Superbike racing in 1980-something after winning the championship with some up and coming rider named Wayne Rainey.  That's right, they didn't defend their number 1 plate and let Rainey go.
It wasn't DMG's fault back then.

[Scoop]

I think that there is some marketing question about whether winning on Sunday actually does translate to sales on Monday.  Or, do people who are going to buy sportbikes buy first, then learn about racing later.  Those who are repeat buyers, do they develop brand loyalty early, or does watching racing really have a significant effect on what they buy?  For those who actually do race at an amateur or "low" pro level might be more affected by who is winning, but they are a minority.  Besides, there is always the racer who refuses to switch from the oddball bike that can NEVER win, but that he/she loves.  I would think that print media would be more effective than putting dollars on the track.  Or at least if I were a manufacturer I would be taking a good hard look at the data before putting out the bucks.

[vguy]

I know that times are tough. But I have to think that the sad state of the AMA/Daytona-thing is responsible for Kawasaki's decision.
On the bright side... Maybe the AMA will become a "privateer" outfit for a few years.

[scottzilla]

I know that times are tough. But I have to think that the sad state of the AMA/Daytona-thing is responsible for Kawasaki's decision.
On the bright side... Maybe the AMA will become a "privateer" outfit for a few years.

Sure, times are tough and perhaps Kawi is the first to say "No thanks" to DMG for 2010, but Kawi seems to be abandoning racing altogether.

[stk0308]

Meanwhile Ryan Farquhar won every twins race he entered with an ER6, and dominated the senior and junior classes of Irish road racing with 119 race wins just this year.  

[DogBoy]

Meanwhile Ryan Farquhar won every twins race he entered with an ER6, and dominated the senior and junior classes of Irish road racing with 119 race wins just this year.  

Wow. Did Kawi pay hefty contingency on the ER6 in Irish road racing this year?

[vguy]

Sure, times are tough and perhaps Kawi is the first to say "No thanks" to DMG for 2010, but Kawi seems to be abandoning racing altogether.

True. But the US is still their biggest single market. How much would it cost to campaign one bike and rider?

[Kyle401]

Personally, a brand's racing efforts have never been a conscious factor in my purchasing decision.  Even when I bought my R6 and YZ's it was more about experience and trust with that manufacturer than the factory race team.  I knew that at the level that I was riding, it was more about my performance than my particular machine.

If Kawasaki can continue to innovate and improve their products, not having a factory backed race team may not prove all that deleterious to sales.  If they aren't able to keep up with their competitors' product development pace, then I would expect a significant effect.

[DJStevieB]

As far as roadracing goes.... with just the 2 bikes out of their entire lineup (ZX-6 & ZX-10), maybe the racing stuff didn't justify the huge expense.

[stk0308]

Wow. Did Kawi pay hefty contingency on the ER6 in Irish road racing this year?

Nope.  He bought it himself, and tuned it with his equipment partners.  As far as I know, no one pays contingency in Irish racing.

[Mr Sunshine]

True. But the US is still their biggest single market. How much would it cost to campaign one bike and rider?

Around 1 or 2 million dollars based on what is said at the WERA board.

[tbeemer]

Kawasaki seems to have pulled out of all racing.

Paul Bird will be running the "factory" Kawi effort in World Supers.  It's funny that all the Japanese mfg's are now in more of a support role with one top team and a few satellites, while the Euros (Aprilia, BMW, Ducati) are still full factory efforts.

Re: Scottzilla's comment on '80s racing.  Valid point, since they're both related to economics.  Although in the modern case, it'd be difficult to argue that DMG's management of the series didn't provide a little extra push.