'IT CAME AS A TOTAL SURPRISE'

+ Click to Enlarge DETERMINED YOUNG MAN: Sheridan Morais in action - the signage on the fairing below his left hand says it all!.

May 13, 2009

South African Superbike champion Sheridan Morais has been offered a works Kawasaki ZX-10R for this weekend's World Superbike championship round at Kyalami.

Earlier in the day newspapers carried reports that Australian rider Broc Parkes would be the sole factory entrant after his team mate Makoto Tamada injured a wrist in a first-corner crash at Monza last weekend.

Morais, who is leading both the 1000cc Superbike and 600cc Supersport SA series, said: "It came as a total surprise."

Perhaps it shouldn't have. Morais attracted some overseas attention when he rode a Team Pedercini Kawasaki as a wild-card entry in the Brands Hatch round of the World Superstock championship in August 2008 by setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap and finishing second.

The Kawasaki factory team was discussing possible stand-ins for Tamada when European racing division chief Steve Guttridge remembered that storming ride.

"Hang on," he said. "We have a rider right there in South Africa who can do the job."

An exchange of e-mails and phone calls confirmed that Morais had an appropriate competition licence and a clean set of racing leathers and that there were no sponsorship issues – and the deal was done.

Morais said: "I'll need some time to adapt and there are only two short practice sessions each on Friday and Saturday plus Superpole and the morning warm-up on Sunday to get everything sorted - but I only have to get used to the bike while the others still need to learn the track.

"The bike's definitely good and, although I've never met any of the team except Guttridge, they're all professionals and they know what they're doing."

His father Ricky, race engineer and team boss for Morais' SA championship campaign, is confident Morais will cope with the extra power of the World Superbike machine.

"Remember that we're at altitude here," he said, " which steals 15-17 percent of the power from naturally aspirated engines.

"At Kyalami the works Kawasaki shouldn't be too much quicker in a straight line than Sheridan's bike is at our sea-level circuits but the suspension and brakes are much better, which will make them lap much faster."

Morais senior will leave the preparation of the bike to the works Kawasaki crew. He built a World Supersport-specification Kawasaki ZX-6R for his son to ride in the Supersport race which still needs to be set up. It'll now be ridden by Morais' team mate Robert Portman, who'd expected to be a spectator on the day.

Morais said: "Robbie hasn't raced a 600 for some time but when he did he was very good so I reckon he'll do okay."

And what does he expect from himself?

"I'm a racer and I'm obviously riding for a win - but that may not come too easily," he said.

His father was a little more analytical: "It's difficult to speculate but we're hoping for a top five. We're quite confident we can manage a top ten, and we think that's realistic, but if a win should come our way we're not going to turn it down."