With one or two ZX-10RRs? Kawasaki’s plan for the 2027 World Superbike Championship is in place

From 2013 to 2020, Kawasaki dominated the Superbike World Championship, winning seven titles in eight years with Tom Sykes (1) and Jonathan Rea (6). The Japanese manufacturer now runs two factory teams in the top class of the production-based World Championship, as the prestigious Italian brand Bimota is also part of the group. Their bikes are powered by the same engine as the ZX-10RR.

On 12 June, Kawasaki extended its contract with star rider Garrett Gerloff ahead of schedule until the end of 2027; next season will be their third together. This was to be expected, as among the top eight in the overall standings at the summer break, only Gerloff (8th) – alongside the Bimota duo of Alex Lowes (4th) and Axel Bassani (6th) – is not riding a Ducati.

Garrett Gerloff praises the progress

“I feel that we’ve made enormous progress this year and can compete more consistently for places in the top five,” says Gerloff, who has, however, only achieved his own target at the Balaton Park Circuit and in Brüx (Most). “The top five is the minimum I want to achieve, so it’s great that Kawasaki has helped me to keep getting faster with the bike and the team. I hope we can achieve even more next year.”

For months, discussions have been taking place behind the scenes about whether Kawasaki will increase its line-up for the 2027 Superbike World Championship from one to two riders. That would help enormously, because the data from the Bimota and Kawasaki bikes can only be compared to a limited extent due to significant differences between the machines. However, this would require an additional budget of over a million euros for this project.

“I’ve pushed Kawasaki as hard as I can to field two Superbike riders,” revealed team boss Manuel Puccetti in a one-on-one interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “That was my idea. However, they told me that, as things stand, they can only confirm one Superbike entry and two riders in the Supersport World Championship. I’m now focusing on putting together the best possible Supersport team. First, we signed Gerloff for the Superbike World Championship, then David Salvador for Supersport.”