Kawasaki have today confirmed they will launch a new, World Superbike-inspired ZX-10R later this year for Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes to campaign in next season’s championship.

Possessing a direct link to the Superbike that Sykes successfully campaigned to secure the 2013 WSBK Championship so convincingly, and that was subsequently honed to take Jonathan Rea to dominate this year’s series, the new litre class Ninja displays only some of its many changes on the surface – such as subtle yet highly effective changes to the cowling shape – with others only becoming apparent as you get closer to the thoroughbred machine; the most obvious of these being a comprehensive upgrade of the suspension components and the adoption of a premium grade braking system.

“This is not a “clean sheet” design as the current Ninja ZX-10R is such a good base to develop from”, commented Project Leader for KHI, Yoshimoto Matsuda.

“With the new model we have focussed our development resources on an overall engineering and performance improvement. We are proud of the result; it means a significant advance in terms of both chassis and engine performance as well as providing the platform to introduce new, state of the art rider aids and other technology.

“The input the KHI development team has received from the Kawasaki Racing Team, and riders, Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes has created what we are sure many will feel is the most competitive and potent Ninja ZX-10R yet. A motorcycle equally at home on the race track or as a highly responsive daily riding road machine.”