Kawasaki have announced that Australian veteran Peter Goddard will partner Akira Yanagawa in the KRT Kawasaki line-up at Misano this weekend, filling the shoes of the injured Gregorio Lavilla.
The team made the announcement after thanking Simon Crafar who steeped into the ride at short notice for the Hockenheim round two weeks ago. Kiwi Crafar performed well in the circumstances and gained valuable points for Kawasaki in the manufacturers championship.
Goddard, who rode for Aprilia in WSB last year, was given the ride as he is a contracted Kawasaki rider in the British Superbike Championship this season. The bosses of the Japanese firm wanted a current Kawasaki rider for “marketing” reasons and Goddard was the most viable candidate.
The Australian has an enormous amount of experience and was due to be riding at Misano for his British Superbike team already. There is a lengthy gap in the British schedule which has allowed the deal to take place without any undue hassles.
Goddard had been hoping to have made his 2000 WSB debut at Hockenheim with the British Total Team Kawasaki outfit but restrictions on entry numbers meant that the team could only field a single entry for Stephen Plater. The British outfit have yet to confirm whether Plater will take up the team's sole entry at the Misano event.
On hearing the news that he would be wearing factory leathers this Sunday, Goddard said “When I got the call from KRT boss Harald Eckl I jumped at the chance to ride. Hopefully the extra track time and knowledge I'll gain will assist our British Championship campaign.”
Lavilla meanwhile, is still recuperating from the broken pelvis he suffered when he fell at Monza. The Spaniard was expected to remain on the sidelines for at least six weeks and if he returns on schedule, will be fit for the Laguna Seca round of the series on July 9th.
