Ellison set for Kawasaki Supersport ride

European superstock champion James Ellison is likely to race alongside Andrew Pitt in Kawasaki’s 2002 World Supersport team.

The 20-year-old from Cumbria has won the superstock title for the past two years and will race an updated version of the 2001 ZX6R that took Pitt to the title last season.

Ellison said: ” World Supersport is where I want to be but I’ve not had anything confirmed by the team boss, Harald Eckl, yet. I understand that he has to get approval from Japan before he can announce anything. ”

However, it is understood that Kawasaki wants to hire a young rider to groom for the future – and that means that 33-year-old Iain MacPherson’s five-year association with the manufacturer is over.

The Scot joined the UK importer’s BSB squad in 1997 two seasons racing a ZX-7RR in BSB the Scot has spent three years in Eckl’s team.

He said: ” I’ve had a word with Foggy and Nigel Bosworth about the Sauber project and told them that I would interested in being involved. Although they couldn’t say a lot, it sounds like just the sort of thing I’d like to do

” That would be my first choice, but I’m also speaking to five or six teams about staying in World Supersport. WP suspension have also said that they want to keep me and they’re using their contacts to see what they can do. ”