Dean Thomas for first round of World Supersport

Hawk Kawasaki
By Carly Rathmell
February 20 2006

33-year-old Hawk Kawasaki rider Dean Thomas has been offered a huge opportunity to replace Stéphane Chambon in the opening round of the World Supersport Championship, at Losail in Qatar.

Hawk Kawasaki Team Principal Stuart Hicken received a call from Christian Bourgeois, of Kawasaki France, late last week - requiring the assistance of Thomas to fill the shoes of the injured Chambon.

Thomas will be riding for the GIL Motorsport team, run from the Kawasaki France Headquarters. Thomas last competed in the Supersport 600cc class back in 2003, in the British Supersport series, and he is looking forward to returning to the series especially at world-class level. After signing with Hawk Kawasaki to ride in the British Superbike series at the end of 2004, he made his mark and settled onto the ZX-10 extremely well - finishing a very creditable sixth position in the overall standings. Thomas was the only rider in the ultra competitive championship to score points in all thirteen rounds, and securing his ride on board the ZX-10 in the 2006 British Superbike series, once again with Hawk.

Commenting, Thomas said, “I was delighted when I got the call from Stuart about the ride in Qatar, and also very nervous. I’m extremely looking forward to getting back on a bike again, and working hard for the GIL team to get some respectable results at the opening round. I have never ridden the ZX-6R before - I will also be on Pirelli tyres and at a new track - so it could prove quite difficult, but I am eagerly awaiting the challenge. I will have a few days to get used to the bike and the set up before the race, but I am hoping that I will settle onto it quite well, as I can generally adapt to bikes reasonably quickly. If I manage to gain a good result then I will also be competing in the second round at Phillip Island, Australia, the following week. It’s been a long while since I competed at world level, and I know that the competition is tough. I have a lot to learn but I am determined to come away with an encouraging result.”

Speaking with Stuart Hicken, he commented, “It’s a great opportunity for Dean to compete at world level, and also a good indication that Kawasaki are working together worldwide as a family. I am confident that Dean will cope well under the circumstances, and I’m glad that he was their choice of rider to fill in for Chambon. We are currently working exceedingly hard as a team to ensure that Dean, Craig Coxhell and Peter Hickman have a competitive set up for the forthcoming British Superbike season, which gets underway in less than a month.”

The World Supersport race will be shown live on Eurosport 2 at 11:00am CET on Saturday 25th February.