The all-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R race bike has been unveiled to the international press at the Nürburgring. The presentation of the new bike comes just before the German round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, which will take place at the Nürburgring race track this weekend.
The new Ninja ZX-10R will mark a fresh start for Kawasaki in the championship. From 2011, the Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team will receive more means and more support from the mother company in Japan. Since 2009, the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team have evolved and restructured continuously in order to be in a position to utilize the new bike's potential to the maximum next season.
The initial race team bikes themselves will be full factory bikes, built and sent to the team from Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) in Japan. The bike is unveiled only now, as Kawasaki starts the European testing trajectory.
Competing in the Superbike World Championship with the all new Ninja ZX-10R will show and expose Kawasaki at the highest level of motorcycle racing. The rules of the championship mean that Kawasaki starts off with and stay within the concept of the production bike which will be available at the local Kawasaki dealership.
Kawasaki is a racing company and the Ninja brand has a solid racing history and pedigree. The new machine will give Kawasaki the possibility to revive the image of being a successful racing company as the company already shows in so many other of motorcycle racing categories within which Kawasaki competes today.
The unveiling of the new Ninja ZX-10R at the Nürburgring was the only chance for people to see the bike close up before next month. The next opportunity to be eye-to-eye with the new Ninja ZX-10R race bike will be the Intermot show in Cologne, starting the 6th of October.
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World Championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) set a 1 minute 59.276 seconds lap on the first day of competitive action in Germany, but Spanish rider David Salom (ParkinGO BE1 Triumph) was only 1/1000th of a second behind.
Privateer Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) slammed in a brilliant new track best lap of 1 minute 55.232 seconds in the opening qualifying session of race weekend to lead Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport). 
Italian rider Andrea Antonelli (Honda Lorini) set the fastest time of day one at the Nürburgring in the Superstock 1000 class, heading off new champion Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) by only 0.035 seconds.
With first qualifying still to come this afternoon, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) took the best time of the opening session, a 1'56.571 set in dry and sunny conditions at the Nürburgring.
There are no prizes for guessing what Leon Haslam (photo, on Silverstone grid with Red Arrows flying officers) and his entire Suzuki Alstare team will be aiming for on raceday at the Nürburgring - get ahead of championship leader Max Biaggi and his factory Aprilia Alitalia machine. He is currently 60 points behind the Italian rider, with six individual races left to run. Haslam has good recent experience of the German circuit, having posted two strong finishes there when riding a private Honda. His team-mate Sylvain Guintoli has never raced at this German circuit, another circuit new to him in his rookie WSB year. Haslam, a three time race winner this year, he has waited long enough to get back into action, and has his sights set on a double order of top three finishes.
2009 - Ben Spies had to face one tough weekend going into the Nurburgring round: Haga's shoulder had had time to heal and the circuit suited the Japanese rider, after he had scored a double in 2008. After qualifying the situation seemed clearly in favour of Haga, as Noriyuki took pole and his direct rival Spies, for the first time of the season, was left off the front row, gaining only a fifth place.