Canadian Kawasaki Duo Prep with MotoAmerica “Green Teams”
Reigning Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike National Champion Kenny Riedmann and reigning Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike National Champ Derrick Whyte were in the United States last week to test their Kawasaki equipment in preparation for the upcoming Mopar CSBK Canadian Series.
Both the Canadian National Champs were at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway in Munford, Alabama, taking advantage of warm and sunny conditions. The grippy 1.33 mile, ten turn venue also attracted the Oregon-based Latus Motors Racing Kawasaki squad with riders Bobby Fong and “Aussie Dave” Anthony as well as fellow MotoAmerica National racer Huntley Nash aboard a Ducati.
Riedmann was making his regular winter test trip to Talladega to work on two brand new bikes: a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R for Superbike and a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to defend his number one plate in Pro Sport Bike middleweight action. Both machines are backed by Sturgess Cycle, Kawasaki and Dunlop.
In 2015, Riedmann made his debut in the Featured Mopar Pro Superbike class with a previous-generation Kawasaki, running at the front and placing second overall in the title chase behind victor Jordan Sozke’s BMW.
After completing his successful 2015 campaign with a RACE Regional Pro start at Shannonville Motorsport Park, Whyte was working for his full time debut with black numerals on his Kawasaki ZX-10R. Support for Whyte’s Rookie Pro tour includes Snow City, Kawasaki, Z-1 Cycle Tech, Vortex, Ferodo, Brake Tech and Spy.
Riedmann’s father, Roland, a former Pro racer, described the track time as the “perfect testing scenario, since it wasn’t too busy, you could come and go when you pleased, and you didn’t have to wait for a session.”
One of the advantages of sharing the test with the Latus crew, long-affiliated with the Riedmanns, is that both teams are working with the brand new, electronically-advanced ZX-10R Ninja, and Latus had already been on track at a couple of other American venues.
“Latus gave us some initial advice with things like the auto-blip,” explained Roland Riedmann. “Kenny didn’t like it at first, but after three or four sessions, he was happy with the assistance. The bike is so stable into the corners.”
“So we got up to speed fairly fast with the 1000, I think Kenny did something like 100 laps the first day. On day two, we were busy with suspension adjustments. We wound up about a second behind the Americans, so we were happy, and we still have lots to do before the first round.”
“It was really productive, the best test we’ve ever done,” continued Riedmann. “The focus was the ZX-10R, but we did get some productive running with the new ZX-6R too.”
The Riedmann group had Tuner Scott Cameron, Assistant tuner Andrew Burns and photographer Richard Roth on hand, while new Pro Whyte was on his own. This led to some moments of humour as Whyte worked to change his own tires, a situation the American racers were not familiar with!
“It was really good actually,” explained Whyte of the chance to test in late March, in decent weather, far from home. “I got rid of some issues I couldn’t resolve previously, did lots of riding. Unfortunately, I was on antibiotics for strep throat so that hurt my stamina, but it certainly was productive.”
“I really saw all the benefits of the new ZX-10R, watching the other guys as they tested,” smiled Whyte. “I had never really spent any time with Kenny, it was good to get to know everybody, they were a lot of help. Scott and Kenny really provided direction with some set-up issues.” “It was really good to get a better understanding of the bike, so I won’t be guessing as much on my set up now as I was last year. This year, I think I’ve picked up some speed, and I am doing better at getting the bike to work with me, not against me. Now I’m going to work on me, on my physical conditioning for the coming season.”
The 2016 Mopar CSBK National Championship tour will kick off for Whyte and Riedmann with the 40th anniversary round at Shannonville Motorsport Park, ON, on May 27-29.
