In a move that isn’t shocking anyone, Kawasaki is ending their Superbike partnership with Paul Bird Motorsports.
Paul Bird’s team had to see the writing on the wall on this one; last May, the team was rocked by scandal when law enforcement claimed to find drugs and a handgun in one of their vehicles.
Naturally, Bird said his team was innocent, and we haven’t seen any more news on the incident since.
Kawasaki’s news release about the change doesn’t say anything about the drug charges; instead it makes vague statements about new directions, thanks Paul Bird Motorsports for helping their racing program get to its current state (they worked with Kawasaki for three years), and says the Kawasaki factory team will be based in Japan next season.