Ian Lowry will make his World Superbike Championship debut at the Nurburgring following on from his outing with the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki team at Brands Hatch.
Lowry was drafted in to race the WSBK-specification ZX-10R as part of the Kawasaki's team's British Superbike wild-card entry, the Ulsterman proceeding to finish the three races with one tenth place and two eleventh place finishes.
Now Lowry, who finished fifth as a rookie in the 2009 BSB standings aboard a Suzuki, has had his opportunity extended to include the German round of World Superbikes where he becomes the latest stand-in for the sidelined Chris Vermeulen.
A 'dream' opportunity for Lowry, he is excited to be given the chance to ride on the WSBK stage for the first time.
“I am really grateful for this opportunity to ride for the Factory Kawasaki squad. It was always a dream of mine to compete in the World Superbike Championship and now this is becoming a reality. I enjoyed my outing at Brands Hatch and working with such a professional team, and was surprised at how comfortable I felt on the Kawasaki.
“I know how competitive the World Superbike Championship is and I intend to make the most of this opportunity and repay the team with two strong finishes. I'm really looking forward to getting a full spin out in the bike again and am really excited about the race. ”
Bird, meanwhile, says the decision to give the ride to Lowry is motivated by him wanting to give a youngster a chance after a year of bad luck.
“We've given Ian another opportunity to ride for us as he did a great job for the Team at Brands Hatch earlier this month despite being called last minute and suffering from a chest infection. I liked the fact that Ian tried hard and put in one hundred and ten percent effort and that's all I can ask of him coming in to the World Superbikes.
“It's also nice to give a young UK rider a chance who has had some bad luck this season. We know he fits in to the Team well and we look forward to working with him again at Nurburgring.”
Having been unable to source a ride in British Superbikes this season, despite his strong rookie year, Lowry was originally plotting to ride Moto2 in Spain before his deal fell through last minute. His only Superbike outings since then have been with Kawasaki and Motorpoint Yamaha.
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