Date: 6 September 2008

Ending months of speculation Kawasaki are pleased to announce the team members and new structure of its flagship MX1 motocross team for 2009. Ever since 1994 when Dutchman Jan de Groot originally forged a link with Kawasaki to form the then named JHK Kawasaki team, the Japanese manufacturer’s flagship motocross race team has been based in a purpose built workshop in Schijndel which is around15 kilometres from Eindhoven in the Brabant region of the Netherlands.
The successful race team – who gave Kawasaki their first motocross world championship win in 1995 with Stefan Everts – grew in strength and stature since then under the watchful eye of De Groot until he sadly passed away in June last year leaving ownership of the team to his wife Ellen while fellow Dutchman Martin van Genderen masterfully managed the day to day running of the outfit.

For 2009 the Kawasaki Racing Team will have new owners in the form of Frenchman Thierry Chizat Suzzoni who is currently co-owner of the CLS Kawasaki team and Roger Pourcel – team manager of the GPKR team. Martin van Genderen will continue to manage the KRT team and its members from the current base in Schijndel.
The riders chosen to represent the KRT squad in 2009 will be French multi-GP winner Sebastien Pourcel and South African Gareth Swanepoel who are both currently 23-years-old. While Pourcel is already a potent and proved challenger in the MX1 division, 2009 will be Swanepoel’s maiden outing in the FIM Motocross World Championship’s premier class. Both riders will ride the new 2009 fuel injection
KX450F-SR model – that Pourcel debuted at the Irish GP – in next year’s championship.

Thierry Chizat Suzzoni: “We got the ‘green light’ from Japan in July to represent Kawasaki officially in the MX1 World Championship with Roger Pourcel. I discovered the GP world three years ago when Jean Jacques Luisetti and I created the CLS team - a squad that is currently being noticed thanks to the great results of Steven Frossard in the MX2 series. For a few months now I’ve been working with Roger to explore the opportunity to run Kawasaki’s MX1 assault and today that’s finalized. We had to reach a deal with Mrs De Groot who discovered our project a long time ago and then convince Kawasaki management that this project was good for the brand.”

“We’ve bought the modern workshop that Jan De Groot built in the Netherlands and soon we’ll have another workshop in the South of France. Our project is based on the continuity and we’re proud to say that the technical staff will stay under the management of Martin van Genderen.

“Sébastien Pourcel will be of course the leader of the team and he will have as team-mate Gareth Swanepoel who is a long time Kawasaki rider and will move to the MX1 class in 2009. We have also convinced the Japanese to have Livia Lancelot in the factory team - it’s another step in her career and we have great hopes with her. Our goal for 2009 will be of course to offer the MX1 title to Kawasaki and we’ll
do our best to reach that goal.”

Roger Pourcel: “Since I created our small workshop in Chateauneuf les Martigues 15 years ago I was dreaming of running a factory team one day and here it is. Life is sometimes hard and after Jan passed away last year we knew that his wife planned to sell the team at the end of the year.
“ During the season I had some long discussions with Thierry Chizat Suzzoni, we talked about my project and worked hard to develop it and then present it to the management of Kawasaki who finally agree with our proposal. Our goal is to continue the great job that Jan and Martin started with the same spirit.
“ For sure we’ll have more pressure as we’ll be the official representatives of Kawasaki in the main motocross class but we’ll keep the same technical staff as Martin and the mechanics confirmed to us that they want to continue with us. We’ll just add to the staff, the mechanic of Sébastien who will stay with us for a third year.
“ Sébastien has decided to stay with us and for sure I’m pleased with his decision, in fact we offered him a good deal but we left him free to make his decision as he got many offers from other teams and brands. Next year he will have the best technical support he has ever had and he is already working closely with the Japanese engineers.
I’m also glad that the factory gave official support to Livia Lancelot - it’s the first time that a woman will be directly supported by a Japanese factory and it’s a reward for us as we’ve supported Livia for many years even before she came to Kawasaki.
“ I know that many people will watch us closely but I’m confident we can succeed. Our goal will be to continue the hard labour of Jan, who I met personally for the first time a long time ago when Christophe was racing in the 80cc class - he always trusted and helped us and his memory is in our minds for always.”

Martin van Genderen: “I’m happy that we can continue running the KRT team in much the same way as it was before – Jan made the team like it is for a reason and it makes me happy that we can continue with that level of professionalism and commitment. Of course there are new owners now and we will have to get used to working with each other but I think things are going well so far and I’m looking forward to working closely with Roger Pourcel and Thierry Chizat Suzzoni.
“ It’s an honour to be working with Sebastien Pourcel and Gareth Swanepoel. Sebastien has a lot of potential and he can be a world champion in the future while Gareth is moving up from MX2 and so might need a little bit of time to settle into the new class – we can only see how he goes and then help bring him along from there.
“ Our programme for 2009 begins directly after the Motocross of Nations with some intensive testing. Then we will travel to Japan to race there and test also and from there we will plan every detail for 2009.”

Sébastien Pourcel: “I’m pleased to be the new leader of team Kawasaki in the official squad. I know that we’ll have a lot of winter testing to bring the 450 Kawasaki to the highest level. I will not have any more pressure than I have now - for two years now I’ve been the Kawasaki rider who got the best results in the MX1 class. “For sure it’s important to move from GPKR to KRT as I will be the top rider for Kawasaki and I will have more technical support than ever with the factory right behind me. I hope that it will help me to become the number one in the MX1 World Championship. I’m happy to be part of this challenge and I’m also happy for my father who invested a lot of his time and money for me and my brother Christophe for more than fifteen years. I hope that I will be able to offer him – and Kawasaki – at least one if not several World titles.”

Gareth Swanepoel: “I’m very happy to stay with Kawasaki who I have a very good relationship with – not only now but ever since I rode in the amateur class in South Africa. It’s good for me to move to the MX1 class, I feel I will be strong in this class and it’s also new and exciting. I was racing a 450 in Germany a few years ago and that’s the way I made my name as I won the German championship.
“ I haven’t raced in this class for three years but I always do practice sessions with a 450. For sure it’s a dream to go into MX1 and into a factory team – that’s what you work your entire career to be in and it’s a good step for me.
“ I’m really excited to race with Sébastien Pourcel. He seems to be a good guy and I’m sure I can learn a lot from him – that’s my goal for next year. I’ve had a lot of bad luck and injuries in the last few years and I’m sure that if I can have a good winter time I will surprise people who will see how strong I can be.”