"I must say that I have always been a great fan of the Kawasaki, and when you watch it on the circuit it seems that it handles very well. Hopefully this test is going to help our viewers to understand a little bit more about how good
MotoGP bikes are. They see them on television but it's difficult to see on screen just how unbelievably fast they are, and how the riders have to be athletes to ride them. I will do only four laps and even this will be pretty exhausting. But this is not to prove myself, but rather to be able to explain better how tough MotoGP racing is when I am commentating," concluded Parrish.
Allowing Parrish to test their Ninja ZX-RR ahead of the British Grand Prix is a new departure for Kawasaki. Previously the Japanese motorcycle giant has restricted journalist access to their current MotoGP racer to a one-day test at the end of the season.
"While it's unusual for us to allow someone other than our official riders to test the Ninja ZX-RR mid-season, we were happy to make an exception for Steve, as he is uniquely qualified to pass on his impressions of riding a MotoGP bike to the
BBC's audience in the UK," said Kawasaki's communications manager, Ian Wheeler. "And Steve will definitely get a true impression of the bike, as he will ride the Ninja ZX-RR on which Randy finished fifth in the Grand Prix of Catalunya; the only thing we'll change is the tyres. This is a unique opportunity, as Kawasaki won't release the bike for a test like this again until the end of the season."
Previously only Kawasaki's official riders -
Randy de Puniet, Olivier Jacque, Naoki Matsudo, Fonsi Nieto - and temporary test rider,
Anthony West, have thrown a leg over the factory's 2007 MotoGP racer.
