Already the champion in Supersport in 2007 and 2010, Sofuoglu also won the title in this his first year as a Kawasaki rider, proving the potency of his Ninja ZX-6R while competing as part of the Kawasaki Lorenzini team.

Along the way Kenan won four races in 2012, made 11 starts from the front row and took nine podiums in total. He grasped hold of the championship trophy one round early, at Portimao, despite suffering from a significant early season knee injury and the loss of points after the intervention of race direction at key points along the way.

Foret won two races for his Kawasaki Intermoto Step team in 2012, proving once more that the 2002 World Champion is still a true force at the sharp end of competition in the 600cc division. Fabien has scored 15 WSS race wins in his long career, which has seen him make 140 starts in this class.

The winter testing schedule for Kenan and Fabien, and details and the final shape and size of the overall Kawasaki presence in the 2013 Supersport World Championship, are still under discussion but further details will be released via www.kawasaki-racingteam.eu when they are finalised.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “I will stay with Kawasaki and we will have a good future together hopefully. It is good to be part of the whole Kawasaki project now and my new riding partner is Fabien Foret. I am happy to have him as my team-mate and we should make a strong team together. We will do something new for 2013, in the new team, and they have already been on the podium in 2012, at the last race. I think all together we will make a strong team.”

Fabien Foret: “I am very happy to sign with a new team, especially as they were already involved in the championship in 2012. It still feels like a new and exciting project and I will try to bring the best results I can, but I also bring my racing experience. I have a good relationship with the people in the team already. It is great to be on such a strong bike again, as the Kawasaki was the best bike this year. For next year I think I have the best position because although I am in a new team, I am staying on the same bike and I will have the same crew chief as this year. So we will be starting 2013 with the data from 2012 and one year of experience on the Ninja ZX-6R, which is an ideal situation.”

Amit Sandill, Director/Team Principal MSD R-N Racing Team India N-Motorsport Limited (UK): “We at MSD R-N, soon to be MAHI Racing Team India would like to welcome Kenan and Fabien to our team. Taking motorcycle racing, at a professional level, into India is going to be very exciting as both of our riders will be involved in race schools here and we hope they will inspire our countrymen to join in this great sport. We are immensely positive and welcome both these fantastic champions on board. This will be a really beneficial move for the sport in India as well as the brand involved. This sport has a great mass appeal to the youth of India and we intend to involve them as much as possible in the growth of the sport in the country.”