Max Biaggi, Eugene Laverty, and Leon Haslam are sure to find a couple of podiums during the 2011 World Superbike season, but Joan Lascorz is ready to compete with the best of the premier class. Lascorz will be riding the much talked about Kawasaki ZX-10R this year, and he is optimistic about his chances.
Lascorz has participated in 52 races in the World Supersport division. He's won three and claimed 19 other podiums. He was also a title contender in 2010 for the World Supersport title. But now the Barcelona rider is taking a step up in class, and he is excited to find out if he can live up to the expectations.
Lascorz got a taste of the ZX-10R in Portimao, but in poor weather conditions.
"At Portimao I only wanted to ride in dry conditions so the first day was a good one to test in, and check how the bike and I were going," Lascorz said. "The bike was good and I was surprised that I was also good. Not 100% yet, but better. The Ninja is really competitive and I was very surprised with the latest developments, it's improved a lot in several areas. I worked well with Pere and we found a good dry set-up but looking at my ideal times I could have been about 0.6 seconds better. In the wet I did not want to risk things too much, but we made some good laps when it was fully wet. I stopped when the track surface became inconsistent as I really is not want to risk a fall."
Lascorz and the Kawasaki team will head to Phillip Island next week for the final test before the 2011 World Superbike season starts on February 27th, on Lascorz's 26th birthday.
