At the halfway point of the season, there’s a change on the Skach Motors Kawasaki Racing team from Dormagen. Philipp Steinmayr’s stint with the team has come to an end. Italian rider Christian Gamarino will take the Austrian’s place and compete in his first IDM Superbike race this coming weekend with the number “18.”
Philipp Steinmayr, who competed in the first three events wearing the Kawasaki team colors, has laid important groundwork for the motorcycle in recent weeks. After officially retiring from racing last year, the 31-year-old was so drawn to the project that he returned to the paddock to help with the development of the ZX-10 RR. Regular rider Martin Vugrinec benefited from this. The 26-year-old Croatian has earned 21 championship points so far. In Most, Czech Republic, he achieved his best result of the season to date: 14 points in a single race.
Steinmayr will once again focus on his personal commitments. To provide support on the track, Kawasaki has now brought factory rider Christian Gamarino into the Skach Motors Kawasaki Racing team. The 31-year-old Italian has previously competed in the World Supersport Championship and the World Endurance Championship. He has a solid grasp of the bike’s fundamentals. He doesn’t know much about the IDM, except that he can expect high-caliber races at a high level—races that guest riders often underestimate. What Gamarino knows for sure is that rivals like Florian Alt on a Honda and Leandro Mercado (BMW) will be on the starting grid. Both enjoy an excellent reputation, as Gamarino has already competed against them in the World Endurance Championship.
The new rider has been signed for the races in Oschersleben this coming weekend and for the event in Assen in mid-August.
