Gerloff, the new Ninja and the Pearson factor: Puccetti explains Kawasaki’s revival in WorldSBK

In an interview with Corsedimoto, Puccetti commented on Kawasaki’s positive moment in SBK and also the somewhat disappointing situation in SSP.

Ducati’s dominance in the Superbike World Championship is no longer news, but there’s another historic brand in the series that achieved excellent results at the recent round in Most. We’re talking about Kawasaki, which with Garrett Gerloff took fourth place in Race 1, sixth in the Superpole Race, and fifth in Race 2. A very solid weekend and a clear confirmation of the growth of the new Ninja ZX-10RR after the fifth place with which the American rider had finished the previous round in Hungary. Today and tomorrow in Misano Adriatico there’s an important test to try to take further steps forward. We discussed all of this with Manuel Puccetti, team principal of the Kawasaki WorldSBK squad.

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“We’re very happy with the positive results we achieved. It was a great confirmation of the Gerloff–Kawasaki package after Race 2 at Balaton Park. Honestly, we went beyond what we expected, but we’re continuing our sporting growth. Garrett is improving a lot; he’s riding the Ninja in a way I haven’t seen in a long time. He has great confidence and determination, and all this gives us hope that we can produce some standout performances in races soon.”

“We’re moving toward a somewhat new setup. First of all, it has to be said that the 2026 Ninja is better than the previous one, being a new model. The wings and other updates we’ve implemented are working; they allow us to have better performance than we had in the past. In addition, there’s a new crew chief, Les Pearson, who had already worked with Garrett both at Yamaha and BMW. His presence is a great help to the rider and the team. Les is taking the Ninja toward a setup we had never adopted before; he’s exploring new areas and tailoring the bike to Gerloff.”

“We’ll try some updates prepared by Kawasaki in Japan. The results we’re getting are motivating the manufacturer more and more to produce upgrades that can allow us to improve further. At Misano the main work will be focused on two areas: chassis and electronics.”

“Yes, we’d like to try to always be in the top 5–6, but it’s not easy. It’s almost a miracle, given that there are so many Ducatis that are strong. In the Czech Republic we managed it, and we hope to continue along this path.”

“I’ve started working on it with Kawasaki and before Donington, before mid-July, I should have a clearer idea. At the moment, they’re evaluating my request. Certainly, the results we’re achieving are motivating them. The idea is to do it, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself until I’m sure I can make it happen. If Kawasaki gives the go-ahead, then we’ll start evaluating the riders as well, based on the budget I’ll have available.”

“In Supersport we’re struggling more than expected. We were convinced that by taking Aegerter we would fight for the world title, but unfortunately the Swiss rider is still far from being competitive. And Alcoba, who had taken two podiums at the end of last season, is having a bit of a hard time this year. The goal was to do much better. We’re committing to the maximum to try to improve the situation: many days on the engine dyno, extra on-track tests, developments of all kinds… We’ll see if we can improve soon.”