motosblog.fr have picked up a hot rumor regarding Noriyuki Haga that we can add to our WSBK silly season.

Haga is having a torrid 2010 season and has become a pale shadow of the rider, who just last year challenged Ben Spies in his title conquest. The Japanese rider is still struggling to find form and has clearly lost confidence in his 1198 and his place in the Xerox Ducati factory team is now on the line, but according to our French cousins, Haga has sounded out his former team manager Davide Tardozzi, who now runs the BMW Motorrad team, for a ride on the BMW 1000 RR next season.

Haga was also linked to a return to his old Yamaha team, but the lastest news as reported by GPone, the Japanese rider has also an offer from Kawasaki to team up with the currently injured Chris Vermeulen and give the new Ninja Superbike a fighting chance in the series that has seen the green team constantly struggle for results over the years.

If Haga should refuse the offer, the team still has Tom Sykes who hasn’t had a bad season and they can also count on Kawasaki Supersport rider Joan Lascorz, who is ready to make the jump to the World Superbike championship.

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World Superbike and Superstock 1000FIM Cup Team Pedercini in a press release have confirmed that will continue their collaboration with Kawasaki in 2011 and will be using the new version of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R that the we saw testing at Suzuka.

In WSBK Team Pedercini currently fields Roger Lee Hayden and Matteo Baiocco, while in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup the teams is fielding Chris Leeson and Danilo Petrucci, who also races in the Italian CIV.

Team Pedercini:

During the last round of the World Superbike Championship and Superstock 1000 FIM Cup held in Brno, Team Pedercini had an opportunity to meet Kawasaki Europe to discuss the 2011 schedule, especially concerning the new version of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10R.

Continue reading: WSBK: Team Pedercini to continue with Kawasaki in 2011

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Yesterday in Race 1 at Brno Chris Vermeulen was wiped out by Max Neukirchner and the Kawasaki rider suffered further damage to his already injured right knee and even if he tried to ride in race 2 had to pull out after two laps due to futher knee problems.

Vermeulen originally injured his right leg at the season opener at Phillip Island and then underwent keyhole surgery, instead of reconstructive surgery early in April to try to repair the extensive damage he sustained and returned to racing at the Assen round, however this latest crash has set back his recovery and in agreement with his team, will suspend all racing activities and seek corrective medical treatment as soon as possibile in order to return to full fitness ahead of the 2011 season.

We expect that Paul Bird’s team will field an English rider to substitute for Vermeulen in the Silverstone round that takes place August 1st.

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The new Green machine is coming! Kawasaki has released this official sketch of the all new Ninja ZX10R 2011 superbike and this teaser video that really doesn’t show us much, but the manufacturer from Akashi is betting on it and have even launched a mini website Kawasaki Challenge.com telling us that the new Ninja racer has been totally revamped inside and out.

Check out the video after the jump and we’ll keep you informed with all the updates as soon as we get them.

Continue reading: New Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R 2011 with Teaser Video

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The ever optimistic Chris Vermeulen talks about his Superpole session, the problems he’s having keeping his lines on the bumpy Tooele track in his first visit and how fast the front runners are.

The Aussie rider qualified 17th, with a best lap of 1’49.635, but is still having problems with his right knee injury that hampers him on right hand corners and direction changes as he still cannot put full weight on the footpeg.

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Chris Vermeulen talks about the Monza round of the World Superbike championship and how he is still struggling with his knee injury and fitness that he picked up at Phillip Island.

The next round will be at Kyalami, South Africa next Sunday.

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Chris Vermeulen, despite suffering pain and lack of strength due to his recent right knee injury, made it into Superpole by qualifying 19th. A crash in the first Superpole session left him on the same position on tomorrow’s grid, but luckily uninjured after his spectacular highside.

Here’s Vermeulen explaining what happened in his Superpole session and the difficulties riding with his still injured leg.

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Chris Vermeulen has finally returned to racing in this weekend’s World Superbike round at Assen,after missing the last two rounds due to the serious knee injury he picked up during his highspeed crash at Phillip Island.

The Australian gives us a guided tour of his home away from home and then talks about how he approaches the modified and faster flowing Ruskenhoek chicane, how he adjusted his Ninja to ride better and his hopes this afternoon’s Superpole.

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Yesterday’s World Superbike race 2 was marred by this horrific crash by Brit rider Simon Andrews who was subbing for injured Chris Vermeulen.

The high-speed crash on the straight left Andrews with a broken his left heel and the top bone in his left foot. He is due to fly back to the UK at the start of the week for further treatment.

Here’s what Simon Andrews had to say: “Race one was ok and in race two I got a good start and was finding decent rhythm. When Tom went passed I was hoping to stay with him and gain some places but the next thing I knew I was hit from behind on the straight and can’t remember much after that. The team are saying I am lucky as from what I’ve been told it looked pretty bad from the TV but my left foot is a bit smashed up and pretty painful right now. I have broken the heel and top bone of my foot and have obviously a few bruises to contend with but overall I’m ok. I’d like to thank the team for the opportunity to ride and how disappointed I am in having to end the weekend this way.“

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While Chris Vermeulen is sitting out this weekend’s WSBK round in Valencia after undergoing keyhole surgery on his damaged right knee, the Aussie rider got around talking about friend Casey Stoner and his chances of snaring a second MotoGP title this year and why he might not just make it.

“I think it’s always going to be hard for him to win against the might of the big Japanese on a Ducati. I think he’s one of the most talented riders out there. He doesn’t care, he just gets on and twists the throttle and he does it very well”.

Ducati vs Japanese Bikes:

“I hope for him that he’s up there challenging but I realistically think that Yamaha and Honda are going to be harder for Ducati to beat this year. Ducati were really at an advantage when the 800cc came out even though Honda built the rules around it but the Japanese seem better at refining things and improving. I’m not taking anything away from Ducati but they are much bigger manufacturers and the bike plays such a big role in MotoGP. I don’t know what Ducati have got in the pipeline or anything but that’s what I’m seeing from outside.”

Continue reading: Chris Vermeulen says Casey Stoner may struggle this Season

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Chris Vermeulen will miss the upcoming WSBK round in Valencia. The Australian rider who badly injured his right knee during a high speed crash in Phillip Island has yet to recover from his injuries, and infact the injury was more serious than what the doctors thought at the beginning.

Vermeulen tried to ride his Ninja ZX-10R in the first free practice in Portimao, but after only one lap had to withdraw and then headed to Belgium to consult with another doctor and underwent arthroscopic surgery to partially clean up the mess in his knee, but the damage is severe enough that it may require further surgery later in the season.

Vermeulen’s replacement in Valencia could be MSS Colchester Kawasaki’s Simon Andrews who tested the bike at Valencia for PBM team just three days ago.

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British Superbike rider Simon Andrews swapped his MSS Colchester Kawasaki for the Chris Vermeulen’s WSBK Kawasaki bike for a two-day test in Valencia.

Andrews stepped in to do some important testing for the WSBK team in place of the still injured Chris Vermeulen, who had withdraw from the Portimao round after discovering that he wasn’t fit enought to ride.

According to BSN website, Andrews was able to lap with almost equal times to those of regular rider Tom Sykes and that their lap times were not to far off Max Biaggi’s.

The Brit rider will returning to England to compete in the BSB Championship season opener at Brands Hatch this Easter weekend.

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