Hawk Kawasaki riders Dean Thomas and Glen Richards chat with Jacqui Rose...

HAWK Kawasaki have made an impact in the British Superbike series in the past few years. Founded by Stuart Hicken in 1996, Hawk has grown from a one-rider Supersport team to Kawasaki's official entry in the world-renowned British Super-bike Championship.

The exuberant Scott Smart rode for them in 2004, pushing the name of Hawk forward with winning by inches at Mondello Park in a nail-biting finish with John Reynolds and Glen Richards completing celebrations on the podium by finishing third.

Finishing fourth overall in the season, Scott has now moved to the Rizla Suzuki Team and 2005 sees a new addition to the Hawk Kawasaki team, Dean Thomas.

Dean started his racing career in 1992, winning the Australian Supersport title three years later. Moving to Britain, he finished third in the 2000 season. His Superbikes debut in 2002 resulted in a third place at Rockingham. Last season he achieved pole position at Thruxton.

I asked Dean how ready the team were for the challenge this year.

He said: "We've done a bit of testing - not enough, to be fair. A couple of afternoons at Mallory Park and Donnington. We could do with a bit more testing but for us the priority is to make sure the bikes are 100 per cent.

"When the season starts it's quite difficult to feed more parts on to the bike. The team are working flat out to make sure all four bikes are perfect. They just need to tune in extra parts. We'll be ready for Brands and have all four bikes ready to go."

The duo are on ZX-10Rs, 998cc engine with liquid-cooled 16-valve inline four-cylinder 180bhp, with a top speed of 195mph.

With regards to his own thoughts for the season, Dean said: "I'm looking forward to the start. This is the first year I've been on a competitive package and it's the first year I can honestly say I'm in for a chance to win the championship, if all goes well.

"It's good to have a teammate, a competitive rider who's going to push me hard."

The camaraderie and banter between the two riders was evident in talking with them - pranks seem to be a necessary part of their Aussie input into team morale!

Glen built up his motorcycling reputation in Australia before he ventured into the UK. Fifth was the position he dominated in his first three seasons of Supersport. He proved to be dependable in competing in the Superstock series, being runner-up in 2000. The 2002 season he made the transition to Superbikes and started his ride with Kawasaki.

I spoke to Glen, now in his fourth year for Hawk Kawasaki, how he felt about the impending season.

He said: "I only did a half season last year so I want to get a full season under my belt."

Referring to Dean, he said: "I've got an Australian teammate who hopefully sees things the same way!"

Commenting on the changes in the championship, he said: "It's a different ball game this year. Last year there were about 13 teams, this year there's about 28-29. I'd have said you needed to be on the podium every race, this year it's a different story. I think if you finish in the top five every race you stand a good chance of winning the championship. Like every rider, you want to stand on the podium in every round."

With their renowned distinguishing paintwork being followed by many Kawasaki owners and enthusiasts, dealerships may see popularity in choosing Kawasakis increasing as the BSB progresses.

By the time you read this, the first BSB race at Brands Hatch will have been run, and teams will be working hard for Thruxton. We will be covering the trials and tribulations in next week's On Two Wheels.

After finishing third overall in the British Superbike team championship in 2004 with 364 points, celebrating their first superbike victory for the ZX-10R anywhere in the world at Mondello Park, Hawk Kawasaki could be the giant-killers. Watch out, the Aussies are here!