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The new for 2010 Metzeler Racetec Interact tires already have a claim to fame - and the BSB Superstock season has yet to even begin! Steve Plater was riding his HM Plant Honda Fireblade (CBR1000RR) at Brands Hatch recently testing the tires in race conditions. During that test, he managed to break the short-circuit record at the track by more than a full half-second - 47.2 seconds versus the old record of 47.83. Very impressive indeed!
http://tinyurl.com/yzlwf5f
Well, it is not as useful as the New Deal once pushed ahead in this nation, but it is important to Canadian racers. Suzuki Canada has announced that they will have a reduced role in the Canadian Superbike Championship series in 2010. They will be paying a small homologation fee to keep their two popular GSX-R models in the series, but they will be providing no factory support to the teams who use them. For all the gory details, please take the link.
http://tinyurl.com/ygrvdtm
Metzeler Racetec Interact Tires Prove Themselves & Suzuki Canada's New Deal
Bostrom and Clark Take WERA Endurance Win in Georgia
Ben Bostrom and Chris Clark piloted their Team Zyvax 2 Yamaha YZF-R1 to victory at the Roebling Road Raceway outside of Savannah, Georgia. They took the win with nine laps in front of the second place team, Team Hooters Apex 2 Suzuki GSX-R600 ridden by James Rispoli and Tim Birdsong. Third place was the other Yamaha team - riding a YZF-R6 - of Dane Westby and Clinton Sellers. It was cold and rainy at the track, but the 15 teams who attended fought the elements and raced against the wind. For all the details, please take the link.
http://tinyurl.com/ydlqm5r
Wednesday Night Moto News - Elena Myers Realizes a Dream
Elena Myers, who spends most of her time in Stockton, California, will make her professional racing debut this weekend at the Daytona International Speedway. She will be riding a Suzuki GSX-R600 in TWO AMA races this weekend - starting tomorrow. At 16-years-old, that will make Myers the youngest female to ever race as a pro in an AMA Pro Racing series. She has even had to battle back from a serious injury to get to this point...a true mark of a professional. Look for her to start showing up at a paddock near you!
http://tinyurl.com/y8quhpz
MORE Afternoon Moto News - BMW S1000RR Impresses & Vesrah Suzuki
A BMW dealer in Arizona asked a local race shop to take out their demo model 2010 BMW S1000RR to a local track to see how it might fair in an AMA race. Well, the stock, just off the showroom floor S1000RR managed to set the lap record at a local track - beating a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in Superstock trim. The record was set by former AMA racer Chris Peris. Given the results, the dealer - Iron Horse BMW - and the shop - Evan Steele Performance (ESP) - have decided to contend the AMA Pro Racing Superbike race at Fontana...and see where this leads them from there...
http://tinyurl.com/ybx69rn
Vesrah Suzuki - of WERA Endurance racing - will enter the 2010 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike series with two riders. Cory West and Jeff Wood will ride GSX-R600 bikes prepared by their team. They do have much of the same crew from previous seasons and will have the same sponsors. Looking good for the newcomer to the AMA series!
http://tinyurl.com/ylgeg36
More Night Moto News - Burmuda's Antoine Richards
This racer hails from a place used by huge American and multinational corporations to keep from paying taxes anywhere, the island nation of Bermuda. It is also a well-known, but a bit expensive, Caribbean getaway. His name is Antoine Richards and he will be competing in the AMA Pro Racing Daytona 200 event for the very first time. He says that he isn't intimidated...well, wait until near mile 160 when your tire starts to slide to and fro...At least he will get some good practice in at the coming weekend's CCS races at the same location. Stand with me, though, and wish him Good Luck! May you reach the podium because it would be a very interesting story and, of course, you will have the historic win!
http://tinyurl.com/yjonfde
More Morning Moto News - Geoff May, Jorge Lorenzo & Nicky Hayden
Geoff may has made his way onto the entry list at the Daytona 200 for 2010. May has formed Geoff May Racing with which to compete in the AMA Pro Racing series this year. It is a full privateer effort, as you can see, and he will run his own Suzuki GSX-R600 in the Daytona SportBike Championship. His last position was as a rider for the Jordan Motorsports team, which dumped him at the end of last season.
http://tinyurl.com/ylfkh2d
Jorge Loranzo, Fiat Yamaha MotoGP rider, will miss the next big MotoGP test due to an injury he sustained while training on a motocross bike. He fell while riding the off-road machine on a course near Barcelona and fractured his hand in the process. Lorenzo is all patched up now, but he must wear something to protect his hand for the next four to six weeks.
http://tinyurl.com/yg77scz
Nicky Hayden recently had to have surgery on his arm to remove some scar tissue from a previous surgical procedure. He did this right after the Sepang MotoGP test, but his Ducati team is saying that he will be perfectly fit to ride in the next test at the end of this month. That's very good news as Hayden really needs any seat time he can get to dial that Desmosedici in to his liking.
http://tinyurl.com/ygrrcv7
Wednesday Evening Moto News - Dainese Thorax & Suzuki Sportbikes
Dainese has just released another interesting piece of equipment in their 2010 line. Actually, it may have been looked over in their big press event at their San Francisco D-Store - there were so many other colorful bits and bobs, honestly. The Dainese Thorax Pro Ladies Chest Protector is designed to protect a woman's important chest parts (parts everyone wants to protect) in case of crash. This particular model is made mainly for track use - as it may not be comfortable for long street rides - but it is an example of how Dainese is becoming more and more of a safety as well as design oriented motorcycle (and other sports) apparel producer.
http://tinyurl.com/yfbf4rw
It turns out that the rumors are true - Suzuki will not be importing any 2010 sportbikes to the US. Some other models are included in this, but most are street-oriented. Of course we have all heard of the limited editions in other parts of the world - but Suzuki bikes are selling there, so it makes some sense. It is an unfortunate situation brought about by the poor economy. Let's all hope that some deals come around and they sell the remaining the 2009 models. It is sad that we will not get any special editions on our shores...
http://tinyurl.com/y8v7tk9
Even More Morning News - Suzuki All-Star, British Supercross & Gresini Honda
The Suzuki All-Star events have now been scheduled all over the U.K. Anyone with any model of Suzuki GSX-R is invited to come out and tackle the track with their machine. The track day events will be held after the British Superbike rounds at Brands Hatch, Snetterton and Cadwell Park. For more information, please take the link...
http://tinyurl.com/yh989od
Paul Bird Kawasaki man Gordon Crockard has won the British Supercross Championship on a Kawasaki KX250. He actually had a hard fought race which he finished in fourth position to achieve his overall victory. In the International Supercross event, he carried home a second place finish. As usual, take the link for more details.
http://tinyurl.com/yh6w9rl
Gresini Honda has picked up another sponsor for their MotoGP team - Airdale Group. Airdale is a business which provides all sorts of services for buildings of all sorts throughout the United Kingdom. For more on the arrangement, please take the link.
http://tinyurl.com/ykbquxp
Friday and Looking for Suzuki GSX-Rs & Vesrah Suzuki Leaving!
MotorcycleUSA is looking for several Suzuki models for a 25 year celebration of the GSX-R motorcycle model line. They are, specifically searching for pre-2008 model years and you should be in SoCal or Medford, Oregon (I am not making that up). Just check the link...I wish I could go and watch...and ride!
http://tinyurl.com/ygll5mx
Eight championships in 9 years with three perfect seasons and 76 race wins. Vesrah Suzuki is withdrawing from WERA National Endurance Series. They only say that they are "...looking forward to a new challenge..." They are an modern institution in the series and have had a huge number of great racers on their team - take the link to catch the list as I simply do not have enough room. I truly hope that they are moving into some other motorcycle racing discipline - they will be missed.
http://tinyurl.com/yj72qeh
American Suzuki Announces 2010 AMA Pro Racing Plans
Suzuki is going to consolidate their USA racing operations to save some money, so all Suzuki racing in the US will fall under the Yoshimura banner for 2010. Yoshimura Suzuki will support Team M4 Suzuki who will support Danny Eslick, who will be riding a GEICO Insurance-backed Suzuki GSX-R600 in 2010 with M4 co-branding. It's a bit complicated, so take the link and read it for yourself.
http://tinyurl.com/yfb7xwx
There is also a quick note on Ben Spies and what to expect in his MotoGP season in 2010.
Schwantz School Announces 2010 School Schedule
Based at the lovely Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, the Schwatntz School is one of the better motorcycle riding schools on the planet. They now have their dates for the 2010 season (including two schools at Indianapolis Motor Speedway), so take the link and see if you can attend Kevin Schwantz's riding classes...
http://tinyurl.com/y8nb7d3
First Look: 2010 Suzuki GSX-R600
Danny Eslick Will Race a Suzuki GSX-R600 in 2010 AMA Pro Racing
Eslick was left out in the cold when Buell was closed by Harley-Davidson - the motorcycle he rode in 2009 would no longer be available in 2010. So, he went back to Suzuki - where he has raced before - and managed to take his main sponsor and team with him. It's a good setup which should prove very competitive in 2010. At least it seems there will be some talented people remaining in the AMA/DMG racing series...
http://tinyurl.com/ydnyhyk
Suzuki's 2010 GSX-R Motorcycles Receive Paint and Graphic Updates
