Australian rider Andrew Pitt, World Supersport champion in 2001, made a more than promising if unexpected GP debut at Sepang in Malaysia today, with his first ever outing on a full MotoGP prototype, on the brand new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR.

Not unexpectedly, the young rider was placed at the back of the grid. More significantly, he cut 2.5 seconds off his lap time from the morning to the afternoon session, and was comfortably inside the qualifying time for his first GP.

This is an impressive start, on a bike still in its infancy, and for a rider whose previous experience has barely come close to the levels of power, speed and competitive riders that he met for the first time today. Pitt has never seen the Sepang circuit before, has never before used slick tyres, carbon brakes or a fuel-injected engine, and the ZX-RR has some 80 horsepower more than any other machine he has ridden before.

There is one more day of qualifying for Sunday’s Malaysian GP. Pitt was drafted in to the team at short notice, after regular factory tester Akira Yanagawa was injured in a race crash last Sunday at the Japanese GP at Motegi. Pitt will race the prototype Kawasaki at the remaining three GPs of this season in Yanagawa’s place.

Andrew Pitt – 22nd in 2.10.628 - "I watched the Motegi Grand Prix on television and I thought the bike was a bit of a handful. But when I went out for my first laps this morning, I was very surprised how user-friendly it was, not wild at all, and with a smooth power delivery throughout the power band. Only on the initial part of the throttle opening, the fuel injection system feels a bit rougher than the carburettors. It took me only about one lap to get familiar with the carbon brakes that I’d never used before, and from that point on, it was just a matter of gaining track knowledge and experience with the bike. We didn’t change much on the bike between the sessions, just minor modifications to make it steer a little easier, and I still got faster lap by lap and improved by 2.5 seconds from the morning to the afternoon. Obviously, it’s a big step up from my Supersport bike and the Superbike that I tested occasionally. It’s definitely good to ride a bike that powerful, and it’s amazing to still feel it pushing ahead in top gear at the end of the straight. Tomorrow, I’ll just try to improve further and to take another couple of seconds off my time!"

Takashi Yasui - Staff Officer, Kawasaki Research & Development Division - "We made some engine improvements after the problems we had in the race at Motegi one week ago, and the bike has been running great on our first day of practice. The biggest task is on Andrew’s side as he has never been on this track before and as he never tested the Ninja ZX-RR, but he already improved significantly in the two sessions of today, and no doubt he’ll go faster again tomorrow as his track knowledge improves!"

Harald Eckl - Team Manager - "Andrew has never been on this track, he has never had carbon brakes, he hasn’t been on slick tyres, hasn’t had a fuel injection, and is confronted with 80 more horsepower than the Supersport machine he rode all year long. Therefore, his progress is remarkable. It was easy to see how he was getting out of the corners better and better towards the end of the first qualifying, and I have no doubt that he will be able to close the gap to the others tomorrow!"