As highly expected World Superbike team Kawasaki has completed their 2013 line-up after confirming Tom Sykes, they have also confirmed Loris Baz for next season.
The 19-year old French rider started the season in the FIM Superstock 1000 Championship, but was called on to replace seriously injured Joan Lascorz after the Spaniard suffered a horrific crash during the Imola post race test that left him a paraplegic.
Joining the team at Donington Park and just after four rounds Baz stunned the paddock when he took a third place podium at Brno and then took a victory and a second place at Silverstone which justly confirmed his presence in Superbikes for another season.
“I am really happy, as you can imagine! Since I first got on the official Kawasaki Racing Team bike I have done everything I could to stay for the future.
I think it is one of the best bikes and best teams so I did not want to go anywhere else.
To stay in this team was the best for me.
We have a really good base and I want to be strong for next year.
I have to thank Guim Roda, my team manager, for taking me in the first place – a young rider on an official bike – and I also have to thank Kawasaki, who also believed in me.
After the end of last year, when I had nothing, they asked me to ride in Superstock.
I saw it as a new challenge and a new beginning.
So I am really happy to ride for Kawasaki again and I cannot wait for next year,” said Baz.
Guim Roda – Kawasaki Racing Team Manager: “When we took out Loris from the Superstock project and brought him into the Superbike team it was because we believed in his potential.
It was not just to finish the year.
We worked with him to confirm the potential and his way of working.
We saw that he was a good prospect for the future so from the beginning we had, more or less, a clear idea and he just confirmed our expectations.
He has demonstrated his abilities and has won a race already so Kawasaki wanted to reward his efforts with a ride next year.
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