British Superbike podium man Stuart Easton has been drafted in to the Kawasaki World Superbike squad this weekend to replace regular rider Broc Parkes who was hurt in a testing crash at Snetterton on Monday.

Hydrex Honda's Easton, who helped the team with some testing duty over the winter on the ZX-10R, is standing in for the Aussie who is undergoing treatment today for a shoulder injury sustained in the crash on the entry to Coram Curve.

"We are bringing Stuart in because he helped us out with some testing over the winter. We need a top rider on our bike this weekend and our relationship with Shaun Muir's team is very close," said Kawasaki team boss Paul Bird, speaking to bikesportnews.com this afternoon.
"Stuart rode incredibly well at Brands Hatch and we need someone who is able to compete at the highest level on our bike this weekend."
“I couldn’t believe it when the call came in from Paul, I didn’t need to be asked twice, that’s for sure! It’s a brilliant opportunity for me and I’m really looking forward to working with the team in a race environment rather than just testing” said Easton who scored a sixth place finish at Monza for the SC Team three years ago in World Supersport.
Muir added: "Our team and the Factory Kawasaki team have an agreement where we test together as much as we can and we will help each other out. This is an extreme case but Paul needed Stuart this weekend and we are happy to give them a hand.

"Hopefully, Stuart will be even stronger for the next British Superbike round at Oulton Park where we expect him to be right at the sharp end from first practice."