WSBK: Tamada to miss Magny-Cours round

Kawasaki’s Makoto Tamata will not race in this weekend’s penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship at Magny-Cours.

The Japanese rider crashed heavily in race 1 at Imola last weekend suffering a slight concussion. He was withdrawn from race 2 and has been advised not to race in the French round.

His replacement will be South African Sheridan Morais, who has raced for the team before this season as a replacement rider, scoring a best result of 11th in his home event at Kyalami.

“I have competed with the team this year already, which should help us in practice and qualifying,” Morais said. “I have ridden the Magny-Cours track before, in 2006 and 2007, and I like it. All the tracks are pretty good over there in Europe.

“I can’t wait to hop onto the Kawasaki Superbike again and I am all ready to go racing. I won the Supersport Championship this year for Kawasaki in South Africa and I am leading the Superbike championship as well, so I am all set to go in France.”

Meanwhile, team-mate Broc Parkes is hoping to make a jump forward at the French track, a circuit where he has won twice in the World Supersport Championship.

“We need to make some forward steps at Magny-Cours this weekend,” he said. “I had some really good times there on a Supersport bike so I like the place. I also think our bike will suit the circuit very well, so now it’s a case of making the bike work the best it can so we can finish as high as we can.”

Watch World Superbike Championship highlights on Motors TV in 2009.


Andy Wilkinson