Positive start for Kawasaki.

In what could still be their final season of World Superbike competition, the factory Kawasaki team know that they cannot afford to underachieve to the extent they did in 2001 despite having the oldest bike in the field and with two inexperienced WSB riders on their books, a largely trouble-free Phillip Island test was just what the doctor ordered.

The Kawasaki Racing Team got their 2002 season underway at the first official SBK test of the year, at Phillip Island in Australia despite high winds and blustery conditions which made riding conditions very demanding on the scenic course.

For factory newcomers Hitoyasu Izutsu, Chris Walker, James Ellison and reigning World Supersport Champion, Andrew Pitt, the three-day test was their first opportunity to measure their progress against that of their championship rivals.

2000 All Japan Superbike Champion Izutsu is already familiar with the factory Kawasaki ZX-7RR following six guest appearances on the bike during 2001, but still the Phillip Island test provided the ideal opportunity to work on finding a good race set-up.

'I am very happy with what we've achieved here over the three days of testing,' said Izutsu. 'We now have ?hlins suspension, which is different to last year, so we've been concentrating on finding good race settings for the bike. By the end of the three days we'd arrived at a set-up that is better than any I've had at Phillip Island before, and I'm now looking forward to coming back here for the race in March.'

In his first full test on the Kawasaki ZX-7RR, Chris Walker had to familiarise himself not just with a new bike, but a new track as well. Unlike most of the other riders in attendance, the three-day test marked Walker's first visit to Australia and his first outing at the beautiful Phillip Island circuit. However while Izutsu was able to make significant time gains throughout the three days, Walker took a little longer in adjusting his new bike to his liking after spending the first half of 2001 on a 500cc two-stroke Honda.

A crash at MG corner meant Walker missed out on track time during the second day but, after completing over 200 laps aboard the factory Kawasaki during the course of the test, the 29-year-old British rider declared himself happy with the progress he'd made.

'I got going quite well on the first day, but I seemed to hit a brick wall whenever I tried to up the pace,' said Walker. 'I felt like I could go faster, and Izutsu proved that the bike was capable of doing it, but I was a bit too impatient, wanting to go quicker straight away. To be honest, I think I was trying a too hard at times, instead of letting it come naturally like it normally does'

'The bike felt real good during the test and, for the first time in a long time, I was actually enjoying myself out on track. After almost a year out, I knew it was going to take me a bit of time to get up to speed again, but I'm definitely getting there now. I'd have liked to have been a bit closer to the fast guys but, with a few more testing miles under my belt, I'm confident that we'll get there before the start of the season.'

Phillip Island is a circuit that World Supersport Champion, Andrew Pitt knows intimately and, with a new bike to get to grips with before he starts his title defence in earnest, the Australian couldn't have wished for a better venue to test the 2002 Kawasaki ZX-6R for the first time.

With the second round of the championship scheduled to take place at the Phillip Island circuit in March, the 25-year-old Australian concentrated on finding a good suspension set-up during the early part of the test, before moving on to run race simulations on different tyre compounds.

"The ?hlins suspension is different to the set-up we ran on the bikes last year, so we spent quite a lot of time working on the front of the bike during the test," said Pitt. "I had a crash on the first day when we were trying a few different things, which didn't help matters, but we've made some real progress and I'm now happy with the way the new bike feels."

"Once we were satisfied with the suspension, we started looking for a tyre that would work in the race. We ran a few race simulations, running full race distance, with different compounds and, while we've identified a tyre that would work, the Dunlop guys reckon they'll have an even better tyre by the time we return here in March."

Chris Walker wasn't the only one taking part in his first full test with the Kawasaki Racing Team; the same was also true of Supersport rider, James Ellison. Despite limited time aboard the Kawasaki ZX-6R prior to his Phillip Island outing, the 20 year-old European Superstock Champion improved his lap times consistently over the course of the three days, eventually ending the test fifth fastest amongst the WSS contenders.

"I've learnt so much over the last three days and finishing with a reasonable time in my first proper test is fantastic," said Ellison. "The bike felt real good from the start, which allowed me to concentrate purely on my riding, and the team have been brilliant with helping me get to grips with everything. I'm really looking forward to getting back out on the bike at Valencia now."

Commenting on the three-day Phillip Island test, Team Manager, Harald Eckl echoed the sentiments of his riders.

"I'm happy with our tests here. Andrew Pitt set the third fastest time while testing race tyres, but of course he knows his way round here pretty well. I'm pleased with the progress James Ellison has made; it's only his second time on the bike and he improved on his lap times every time he went out."

"Hitoyasu Izutsu is no stranger to the Kawasaki and went well on it during the test, but Chris Walker maybe needs more time on the bike to get himself back up to speed and build up his confidence. I'm sure he will improve further at the next tests in Valencia."

Defending World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss ended the test with the fastest time of all with his 1 minute 32.944 second lap eventually proving two tenths faster than the best managed by his Infostrada Ducati teammate Ruben Xaus. Izutsu's best time was 1 minute 33.650 seconds while Walker managed a best lap at 1 minute 35.694 seconds.