Road Racing: Dunlop to ride factory Kawasakis

Michael Dunlop will ride green when he tackles the 2011 road races on factory Kawasakis, provided by Paul Bird's official WSB squad.

Dunlop will ride the factory-prepped ZX-10R in the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prx in the Superbike and Superstock classes, with complete support from a team of top technicians and special factory parts.

Coming from the long line of road-racing greats, Dunlop had seen interest from a number of teams, including a test ride with the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing, before settling with the factory backing of Kawasaki.

The 22-year-old from Ballymoney will be aiming to step further up the podium after taking second in the Superbike TT last year: "I'm grateful to Paul (Bird) for giving me this opportunity - it's great to be riding for a factory team and have my own people on board again too."

"There's no reason why I can't win big bike races on this bike and make a name for myself by following in the footsteps of my dad Robert and uncle Joey," he added

Dunlop will still ride the Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Supersport and Junior classes.