Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Kawasaki will not field a factory team in the 2005 AMA Formula Xtreme class or the 2005 Daytona 200 race but is still considering an entry into the premier AMA class, Superbike.

“We are not going to race in (AMA) Formula Xtreme this year for sure,” Bruce Stjernstrom, Director of Pro Racing for Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA, told Roadracingworld.com at the recent Kawasaki Dealer Meeting in San Diego, California.

Asked about the possibility of returning to the AMA Superbike class, Stjernstrom responded with questions better asked of AMA Pro Racing.

“Where are we gonna go with this thing?” asked Stjernstrom. “To make that level of a commitment, it’s a huge expense to go into that class. We want to run them. We have the bike and the riders who can do it. We want to race in the premier class against the best guys. But where are we heading? The whispering is that we’ll be racing 600s (in the premier class) but when? 2007? 2008? That makes our decision that much more difficult.

“I’m not blaming the AMA (Pro Racing). I feel the staff has a lot to overcome before they can make a decision. They have good, intelligent people who understand the business, but the decision making process is flawed.

“We (teams and manufacturers) just have to stay consistent with what we’re telling the AMA and be clear with what our objectives are.”