STEWART LOOKS AHEAD TO SOUTHWICK MX 


Team Suzuki Press Office - June 24. 

Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart remains upbeat after the weekend's fifth round of the AMA Pro Racing Motocross Championship that saw him crash in both races but fight back into points-scoring positions. 

Stewart gave 100% at the Budds Creek National and, although his results didn't necessarily reflect it, the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 rider felt better, stronger and more-prepared for the remainder of the season. 

Although he hadn't raced at Budds Creek since 2008, he made the best of the challenging track by turning in the fastest lap of the day in qualifying. In the first moto, he was clicking-off smooth, hot laps when he suffered a couple of unfortunate get-offs. Despite the setbacks, he still managed an 11th-place finish. In the second moto, Stewart got a top-10 start and ran in a podium position for several laps before tip-overs saw him finish 13th and 12th overall for the day. 

Said Stewart: "I have to admit that we struggled a bit at Budds Creek. I went down a total of four times; twice each moto. The first time I went down, I started coming back up and I was battling with some fast people and got tangled-up with a rider and finished 11th. In the second moto, I didn't get a good start but made my way up to third and it went a little better. I had some problems but made my way back to fifth and then wound-up crashing in the same spot I did in the first moto. It was just a bummer, but I could feel a difference in the second moto and it was better. Now we're just focusing on being strong for Southwick and the rest of the races this year." 

Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing's next race is round six of the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Championships on Saturday, June 29th at the Moto-X 338 National in Southwick. 

 JERMAN AND SUZUKI DOMINATE RIJEKA SBK 


Team Suzuki Press Office - June 18. 

Suzuki GRANDys duo rider Marko Jerman dominated the third round of this year's Alpe Adria series on the Rijeka circuit in Croatia, winning both the Superbike and Superstock 1000 races and earning bonus points for fastest qualifications and the best race laps. 

GSX-R1000-mounted Jerman, racing on his home circuit, also took over the lead in the Superbike Championship from team-mate Andy Meklau - who was a non-starter at Rijeka - and also moved closer to the Championship lead in the Superstock 1000 series. 

GRANDys duo Superstock 600 rider Daniel Bukowski was unlucky and suffered a heavy crash in Sunday's warm-up, but despite serious damage to his GSX-R600, made the start line and finished sixth - the first time Bukowski had finished off the podium this season. 

Said Suzuki GRANDys duo Team Manager Jacek Grandys: "I am very pleased with Marko's wins. And despite his fall, Daniel did not lose too much distance to the series leader. I thank the whole team for the work done and we are looking forward to the next event." 

Said Bukowski: "We changed some set-up after qualifying and wanted to check it out during the warm-up. Unfortunately, one of the riders in front of me made an unexpected high-speed move and pushed me off the track. The team did a great job after my crash rebuilding the bike so I could start the race. I'm still second overall in the championship with real chances to fight for the title and I hope the next race at the Most circuit will be much better for us." 

Race results: 

Superbike: 

1 Marko Jerman (GRANDys duo Suzuki) SLO 
2 Jan Halbich (Kawasaki) CZE 
3 Janez Prosenik (BMW) SLO 
4 Berto Camlek (Yamaha) SLO 
5 Irek Sikora (BMW) PL 

 KALLIO PODIUMS IN FINLAND AFTER TT CRASH 


Team Suzuki Press Office - June 13. 

After being air-ambulanced to hospital following a practice crash as a Newcomer at the Isle of Man TT a fortnight ago, Suzuki Finland-sponsored Juha Kallio was back in action at the weekend in the opening round of the Finnish Road Race Championship at Virtasalmi; impressively scoring a podium position. 

The 777rr Motorsport Suzuki Team rider, still suffering the after-effects of his heavy crash during 600cc qualifying at the 2013 TT Festival, raced his GSX-R600 to third place in Saturday's seven-lap Superstock 600 race and fourth place in Sunday's 12-lap event to go equal-third in the series. 

Said Kallio: "I'm still very sore. I remember I should have been in third gear, but was in fourth going into the corner at the Isle of Man and far-too fast. They took me to a hospital in a helicopter. 

"My expectations for this weekend weren't high, I didn't have enough time on the bike after my crash at the Isle of Man, I expected a rough weekend; and that's what it was. During Sunday's race, the pain was immense and I didn't take any risks out there. In the end I got pretty-good points and I'm satisfied with that. Without the great-working suspension and tyres on my Suzuki GSX-R600 I would have been much slower out there, but I'm sure I'll be ok and improve this weekend at the next round in Alastaro." 

Team Manager Joni Hannula said: "Juha astonished us all with his performance because he was still really sore after his big crash at Isle of Man TT, but he still took some good championship points this weekend. Another factor for such a good result was Pirelli's new tyre model that worked really well for us. We have a new race next weekend so hopefully we'll just continue to improve from here." 

 SOLID DAY FOR FIXI CRESCENT SUZUKI AT PORTIMAO 


Team Suzuki Press Office - June 7. 

FIXI Crescent Suzuki's Leon Camier and Jules Cluzel finished comfortably inside the Superpole positions during today's first qualifying session for the sixth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Portimao in Portugal. 

Camier led the way for the FIXI Crescent Suzuki team as he posted the ninth-quickest time around the 4,592m Portuguese circuit. He made several changes to his machine throughout both the qualifying and free practices and is confident that he can improve his own riding further as the weekend progresses; and be able to challenge for a good result on race-day. 

Cluzel was returning to a circuit that saw him take victory in the 600cc class last season, but the step-up to the Superbike class was a completely different affair and the ever-improving Frenchman made sure he used both sessions to gather as much information as possible for his Yoshimura-powered Suzuki. His 12th place was only one second off the fastest time of the day and Cluzel is convinced he can make steps tomorrow to further improve his time. 

Today's conditions at Portimao were very windy with an overcast sky covering the circuit all day. Track temperatures this afternoon reached 37° C as Honda's Jonathan Rea took provisional pole. 

Camier and Cluzel have a second qualifying session tomorrow morning where they will aim to consolidate their places in the top-15 to make sure they are in the afternoon's Superpole to get the best qualifying positions for Sunday's two races. 

Leon Camier: 

"We changed the bike a bit today because I felt that I wanted a bit more out of it and we certainly improved it - that's for sure. My consistency was a lot better as well, but I still need to find a bit more speed in some places. We still need to make some small changes, but only enough for me to get the feeling I want and then I can start to push and find the boundaries, then hopefully that will be good enough for race-pace. The wind was a bit difficult today; as you came down the start-finish straight it would try and blow you off the track. It was quite vicious there, but thankfully not as bad around the rest of the track." 

Jules Cluzel: 

"I am happy to have completed a whole Friday in dry conditions; it has helped us to try lots of stuff and we now have more data to improve the bike tomorrow. I am pleased with 12th because it is only one-second away from the best time and I think we can do better tomorrow. This is not an easy track because it is very bumpy and everybody is wheelying, but this is a good thing for us because it means we will be able to fight with all the other riders as we are all having the same things happen." 

Paul Denning - Team Manager: 

"Position-wise we would like both of the FIXI Crescent Suzuki riders to be further up the leaderboard today, but it has been a solid day's work so we can't complain. Leon has been regaining confidence following a difficult race-day at Donington and is progressing well step-by-step. The lap-times are extremely close, with Jules just one second from the fastest rider, but that one-second puts him down in 12th place! The team will be working hard tonight to give the riders a little more grip and a bit more confidence to see if we can eat away at the gap to the front row tomorrow morning." 

Portimao - eni FIM Superbike World Championship - Qualifying 1: 1. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1'43.551: 2. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) +0.052: 3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) +0.097: 4. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) +0.383: 5. Davide Guintoli (Aprilia) +0.466. 9. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) +0.727. 12. Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) +1.042. 

 BAD WEATHER HINDERS DONINGTON WSB 


Team Suzuki Press Office - May 24. 

FIXI Crescent Suzuki's first day of work for the European round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Donington Park was severely hindered today by some awful weather at the British circuit. 

This morning's free practice was almost a wash-out with only a handful of riders heading out on track in the wet and windy conditions. Leon Camier did just two sighting laps to test some electronics before returning to the garage for the rest of the session. Conditions did improve slightly for the start of first qualifying this afternoon and both Camier and Jules Cluzel were able to head out on to the 4,023m circuit with slick tyres. Camier posted some impressive times - he even led the timesheets at one point - but intermittent rain and very strong winds, coupled with cold temperatures meant that the Englishman couldn't complete his planned work in the session and had to settle for sixth quickest. 

Cluzel started the qualifying with a wet setting on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R, but quickly came in to change the bike's set-up. He was in 11th place in the standings when a sharp and heavy rainstorm on one part of the track caught him out and he had a slow-speed crash. He re-mounted and returned to the pits uninjured, but due to the weather conditions he was unable to venture back out on circuit to try and improve his time or position. 

With the inclement conditions, that saw track temperatures at only 4°C, it was never possible for any of the riders to produce many quick laps. Tom Sykes took today's honours, but with the forecast looking more promising for Saturday, the lap-times to carry forward into the afternoon's Superpole will most likely come from the morning's final qualifying session. 

Leon Camier: 

"It's been ok today, but the bike never really felt right out there. We tried a few things with the electronics to get the wheelying under control and there is still quite a lot we can work on to improve things. I don't think we're a million miles away from being where we want to be though, so we're not that worried. We'll make some changes tomorrow and hopefully the weather will be better and we can get some proper work done, because it was absolutely horrible out there today." 

Jules Cluzel: 

"Today we only did a few laps, but I am happy because I feel quite good with where we are. I thought we would be quite far away as I didn't feel too good on the bike; because we started with a wet setting and I then stopped to change it and we lost quite a bit of time. Then it started to rain and Sykes crashed in front of me when I was on an out-lap. I was riding really slowly and saw him crash and I don't know what happened because the bike just slipped from under me. I got back to the garage ok, but it had started raining a lot more and we couldn't go out again. I don't like this English weather today, so I hope it gets better for the rest of the weekend!" 

Paul Denning - Team Manager: 

"It's been a long British winter this year and it feels like it's still continuing here at Donington Park. It's been bitterly cold, extremely windy and felt like it was about to snow at any minute! That said, the track was in a good enough condition this afternoon to get some reasonable data and understand - if not the detailed chassis settings for better conditions - at least how the engine is responding and what we need to do to improve corner exit in a couple of parts of the track. The weather forecast is much better for the weekend; let's hope it's accurate and we can get down to some proper competition as the event progresses." 

Donington Park - eni FIM Superbike World Championship - Qualifying 1: 1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'30.278: 2. Jonathan Rea (Honda) +1.282: 3. Marco Melandri (BWM) +1.293: 4. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) +1.662: 5. Davide Giugliano (Aprilia) +1.662: 6. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) +1.700. 11. Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) +2.399. 

 
TOP 10 FINISH FOR ROCKSTAR ENERGY IN SAN DIEGO

Team Suzuki Press Office - February 21.
Team Rockstar Energy Suzuki scored a top ten finish in the sixth round of the 2011 AMA/FIM Supercross Lites West Championship season on Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.
Ryan Morais rode a strong race in the wet conditions, powering his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z250 to a ninth-place finish. Team mate Martin Davalos had a tough night, finishing 12th in the 15-lap Lites Main Event.
After a delayed and shortened practice and qualifying, Morais had a decent ride on his RM-Z250 in his heat race, finishing fifth. A mid-pack start in the Main put Morais 10th after the second lap. An incident on lap two sent him to the back of the pack, but he dug deep and his RM-Z powered him through the pack to a ninth-placed finish.
"I just didn't get a good start in the Main," said Morais. "After that, I was trying to make something happen in the first couple laps and ended up crashing. I got back up nearly last but I put my head down, felt pretty good, and clicked off some pretty good laps on my Suzuki RM-Z and ended up finishing ninth. I'm not real happy with the result but I felt I actually rode pretty well. I plan on working hard over our break and come back to Seattle strong."
Davalos started his day with a decent time in practice and qualifying. After a problem in his heat race, his Suzuki RM-Z250 powered him to a win in the last chance qualifier. In the Main, the Rockstar Energy Suzuki rider had a tough start and ended up on the ground a couple times before crossing the line in 12th place.
"I started out decent in practice," said Davalos. "But I made a couple mistakes in my heat race and ended up having to go to the last chance qualifier, which I won. I crashed twice in the Main Event, struggled a bit, and ended up 12th. I'm going to go back home to Georgia over the break and try to get ready for the last three rounds. I really want to win and I know I can put my RM-Z on top of the box."
The 2011 Rockstar Energy Suzuki team's next event is Saturday, February 26th, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
San Diego Supercross Lites Class Results:
1. Eli Tomac
2. Tyla Rattray
3. Broc Tickle
4. Cole Seely
5. James Decotis
6. Joshua Hansen
7. Ken Roczen
8. Ben Evans
9. Ryan Morais (Rockstar Energy Suzuki)
10. Kyle Cunningham
12. Martin Davalos (Rockstar Energy Suzuki)
2011 Supercross Lites West Standings:
1. Joshua Hansen - 128
2. Broc Tickle - 125
3. Eli Tomac - 116
4. Ryan Morais (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) - 96
5. Cole Seely - 88
6. Ken Roczen - 83
7. Tyla Rattray - 80
8. Kyle Cunningham - 71
9. Martin Davalos (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) - 69
10. James Decotis - 67
 

 
METCALFE 9TH AS DUNGEY DERAILS CHAIN AT ANAHEIM

Team Suzuki Press Office - February 7.
Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Brett Metcalfe raced his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450 to a ninth-place finish at Saturday night's 2011 AMA/FIM Supercross Championship fifth round at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, as reigning Champion Ryan Dungey suffered a derailed chain and was forced to retire.
Metcalfe piloted his Suzuki to a fourth-place finish in the first 450 heat race, then after a tough 13th-place start in the Main Event, he worked his way through the pack to score a ninth-place finish.
"It wasn't one of my better days," said Metcalfe. "Everything for me today was just difficult. But you learn a lot from these days and we'll take it and move forward. I want to thank the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team for sticking by me and we'll just concentrate on Houston. I've always liked Houston and have generally done pretty well there."
Dungey started the day with a strong practice and finished first in timed qualifying on his RM-Z. He grabbed the holeshot in his heat race and finished with a convincing win. A mid-pack start in the Main put him in 10th after the first lap. But he kept his head down and was able to work his way through the pack up to sixth place by lap seven. Unfortunately, on lap eight, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider threw the chain and ended with a DNF in the. Based on initial observations, his Rockstar Makita Suzuki team concurs that the chain loss was a result of a rock or other foreign object in the sprocket or possible contact with another rider.
"Well, obviously the Main event didn't go our way tonight," said Dungey. "The bad part is that we had a really good day; a good practice and a really great bike setup. We won the heat and then ran into some bad luck in the Main. It's a pretty tough pill to swallow because the entire Rockstar Makita Suzuki team has been working really, really hard. I don't know the last time we've had a DNF, which is pretty amazing in itself. This is a tough one and I'll take the weekend to blow off some steam for sure because we aren't going to quit and we aren't going to let this keep us down. The goals are still the same. We will be there at Houston."
The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team's next event is Saturday, February 12th, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Anaheim II Supercross Class Results:
1. James Stewart (Yamaha); 2. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki); 3. Chad Reed (Honda); 4. Justin Brayton (Yamaha); 5. Trey Canard (Honda); 6. Andrew Short (KTM); 7. Ivan Tedesco (Kawasaki); 8. Kevin Windham (Honda); 9. Brett Metcalfe (Rockstar Makita Suzuki); 20. Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki).
Race images: http://www.suzuki-racing.com/imagelibrary_thumbs.aspx?SRS_ID=4&RND_ID=616&OBJ_ID=0

 

World Superbike

 
RAMON MAKES HISTORY WITH LE TOUQUET WIN
Team Suzuki Press Office - January 30.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Steve Ramon has started 2011 in the best possible way by fulfilling a career goal and giving Suzuki a first taste of success at arguably the most famous beach race in Europe.
The 31 year old Belgian - a FIM Motocross World Champion in two categories and seven times Belgian MX national champion - rode for three hours across the French sand at Le Touquet to stand victorious and add the honour to his impressive CV.
Using a modified 2010 RM-Z450 Grand Prix machine - including a larger fuel tank, speedometer, different gear box and ratios and configuration to comply with the Enduropale rules - Ramon swiftly hit the front in the race with eleven 15km laps, hundreds of entrants; and with a crowd of more than 200,000 lining the coast. A winner of numerous beach events and an extremely capable racer in the sand, Ramon faced some pressure on the final circulation from Frenchman Jean-Claude Mousse, but was still able to take the chequered flag in the high-profile competition that was inaugurated in 1975.
"I had a lot of fun and to win at Le Touquet has always been one of my goals," said Ramon. "When you see all the people watching, you get to see just how big this event is; I have won a lot of beach races and I guess I came here as the favourite but it was still a hard ride.
"I started around fourth or fifth and took the lead before the end of the first lap," he continued. "We managed our pit-stops well and the last stages were tough physically as well as trying to find a way past all the backmarkers. Mousse made a mistake on the final lap and I was able to take advantage. Overall it is an amazing result, not just for me but also for Suzuki."
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 will now commence a busy schedule of testing and racing building up to the first round of 15 in the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship that begins in Bulgaria on April 11th. Ramon and team-mate Clement Desalle are next due to appear at the Valence International event near Lyon in two weeks time.

P

Looking for the snowmobile races? Races and race results posted at http://www.snowcross.com/1/1_1_0.php

 
FABRIZIO AND ALSTARE POSITIVE AFTER ARAGON WSBK TEST
Team Suzuki Press Office - October 29.
New Team Suzuki Alstare rider Michel Fabrizio used the three-day World Superbike test at the Motorland circuit at Aragon in Spain getting comfortable with his GSX-R1000 and start work with his new team.
It was Fabrizio's second time on a four-cylinder bike after years of riding a twin, but the Italian soon got into the groove and left the circuit in a happy frame of mind. Although there's a lot of work to be done before the 2011 season, Fabrizio and the crew have gelled from the start - thanks to him having worked with Suzuki Alstare in the past - and they are now looking forward to moving forward at the next round of tests.
Motorland Aragon is a new circuit and a round of the 2011 Superbike World Championship will be held here next, so it was important that riders and teams got to know the demanding track ahead of next year's race. The 5.344-kilometre circuit features many changes of elevation and is regarded as a technical track, but one that is also fun to ride.
Michel Fabrizio:
"After our test in Magny-Cours in early October, it was good to get back on the bike and continue where we left off in France. Here we spent a lot of time working with the bike and trying to make me feel comfortable with it. After years of riding a twin-cylinder bike, there is a lot to adapt to, because the characteristics of a four-cylinder bike is very different to that of a twin. After these three days, I felt much more comfortable on the bike and I was able to steadily-build up my confidence. We haven't been chasing lap times or pushing too hard, but what we've done here is build up our understanding step by step.
"Having known most of the mechanics from when I raced for the team before has helped a lot and I've felt pretty comfortable with the team right from the start. That has made the work more-easy and our progress quicker. To be honest, I didn't expect to get on with the bike as quickly as I have - but that is a good sign.
"This track is quite technical and there are many ups and downs, but I like it a lot. It's a demanding track and although it's not that hard to learn, it is quite hard to shave off those last fractions of a second when you are chasing lap times. The surface is very abrasive and none of our tyres have lasted more than about eight or so laps. It's the same for everybody here - not just us. We are using a different layout to the MotoGP boys and have one really slow corner after a long, fast straight; and this interrupts the flow a lot. It's a shame that we cannot use the same layout as MotoGP because it might have been fun looking at our different lap times.
"There have been no big problems or dramas during the tests and I'm pretty satisfied about how everything has gone. Now I'm looking forward to the next tests, getting to know the bike better; and improving all round."
I

SUZUKI DOMINATES CANBERRA SUPERCROSS

Team Suzuki Press Office - October 25

Dual and defending Pro Lites Supercross Champion Matt Moss put Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki back on top with a clean sweep of the second round of the Australasian Supercross Championship at Canberra on Saturday night.
Moss spent the week on his Suzuki RM-Z250 working on his starts after the first round at Newcastle and the time was well spent: After qualifying second fastest, Moss grabbed the holeshot in race one of the triple challenge and quickly built up a four-second lead.
From that point he was never seriously challenged and rode a beautifully-controlled race to win by 3.2 seconds from series leader PJ Larsen.
Team-mate Lawson Bopping - keen to put in a strong showing in front of his home crowd - started superbly but was involved in a huge crash at the end of the opening lap, putting him out of contention.
Moss started strongly in race two, narrowly missing the holeshot. Arch rival Larsen started in similar fashion and from that point the pair put on the best Pro Lites race of the season so far.
Larsen - the 2010 National Motocross Pro Lites Champion - pushed Moss to the limit, but Moss maintained his lead throughout and ultimately won race two by 1.7 seconds from Larsen, with Team Raceline Pirelli Suzuki's Steven Clarke putting another RM-Z250 on the box.
Bopping showed true grit by coming back from his spectacular first race spill to finish in the top 10 in race two.
The third and final race proved a procession for Moss, who grabbed his second holeshot of the night and quickly built up a two second lead.
Fatigue from the gruelling triple challenge format - which limited time between each race to just five minutes - started taking its toll in the final race. Larsen suffered a big crash on lap three and fell to the back of the field, easing the pressure on Moss who rode another controlled race to lead from wire to wire.
Clarke grabbed second position in the final race while Bopping managed to salvage his night with a gutsy eighth place.
Moss's maximum points haul has given him a commanding lead in the championship, now 18 points clear of Larsen. Clarke's excellent round has promoted him to fifth, while Bopping is in sixth position.
In addition to the Pro Lites Rider's Championship, Suzuki also leads the Pro Lites Manufacturer's Championship.
Moss' twin brother Jake, inspired by his brother Matt, started well in the Pro Open event and showed he will be a contender on the Suzuki RM-Z450 by taking fourth position. He was the first Aussie home behind the US invasion led by Kevin Windham. Unfortunately that was to be his best result of the night, finishing 16th in the second race after suffering two crashes and then having to withdraw from the final race of the evening. His 23 point haul keeps him in the top 10 of the Pro Open championship.
Jay Foreman, Rockstar Motul Suzuki Team Manager said: "We are really happy with the way Matt went about the weekend, putting in a dominant racing display. He just needs to keep on doing what he is doing.
"Both Lawson and Jake both showed how capable they are. If they start well and get some luck they will run up front."
Round 2 2010 Australasian Supercross Championship Results:
Pro Open:
1. Kevin WINDHAM
2. Josh HANSEN
3. Justin BRAYTON
4. Jay MARMONT
5. Mike ALESSI
6. Tye SIMMONDS
7. Daniel REARDON
8. Todd WATERS
9. Daniel McCOY
10. Lewis WOODS
Pro Open Championship Standings:
1. Josh HANSEN 108
2. Justin BRAYTON 98
3. Jay MARMONT 88
4. Daniel REARDON 77
5. Kevin WINDHAM 75
6. Tye SIMMONDS 68
7. Todd WATERS 65
8. Daniel McCOY 65
9. Lewis WOODS 56
10. Jake MOSS (Suzuki) 50
Pro Lites:
1. Matt MOSS (Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki)
2. Steven Clarke (Team Raceline Pirelli Suzuki)
3. Ryan MARMONT
4. PJ LARSEN
5. Cody MACKIE
6. Ford DALE
7. Kirk GIBBS
8. Luke STYKE
9. Josh CACHIA
10. Harley QUINLAN
Pro Lites Championship Standings:
1. Matt MOSS 115
2. P J LARSEN 97
3. Ryan MARMONT 87
4. Cody MACKIE 74
5. Steven CLARKE 63
6. Lawson BOPPING 58
7. Harley QUINLAN 58
8. Kirk GIBBS 56
9. Kade MOSIG 54
10. Luke STYKE 53

 

BORICH AND SUZUKI R450 WIN IRONMAN FINALE
Team Suzuki Press Office - October 25.
GNCC ATV Champion Chris Borich clinched his 11th victory in the 13-race schedule at the Ironman GNCC aboard his Championship-winning Suzuki QuadRacer R450 at the weekend.
Borich, who lifted the title at the 12th round of the series, finished the season off in style by dominating the race in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He led the race from the start and never relinquished the top spot; taking the holeshot and quickly pulling away from the rest of the pack for the entire two-hour race through the woods. When the chequered flag came out, he was more than a minute ahead of the rest of the field.
"I got a good start and I knew I had the Championship all wrapped up, so I decided to go out and put the hammer down to see what I could pull," said Borich. "It was just an awesome day out there and I was having a ball all by myself. My Suzuki has had great power all year long and I'm really happy with how this season has gone for me."
His winning season has cemented the status of the Suzuki QuadRacer R450 as the top Quad in USA competition: The QuadRacer R450 has won the GNCC ATV title two years in a row and it's also been the Championship-winning Quad for three years running in the AMA ATV Motocross series.

 

TONUS BEATS 450S AT BERCK SUR MER

Team Suzuki Press Office - October 21.

The 2010 FIM Motocross World Championship may well have been resigned to the history books but Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2's Arnaud Tonus has yet to finish his racing commitments this year and last weekend gained arguably one of his most impressive results since turning 'yellow' almost 12 months ago.
The teenage Swiss, who finished seventh in the FIM MX2 class in just his second season at the highest level, guided his potent RM-Z250 to victory in the Berck sur Mer beach race on the west coast of France.
In taking 1st, 2nd and 1st positions in the three races in tough sandy conditions and through a deep course that involved a three minute lap, Tonus defeated a host of renowned MX1 (450cc) riders including 10-times World Champion Stefan Everts, Belgian Champion Steve Ramon, Grand Prix winner Ken De Dycker, French Champion Xavier Boog and other World Championship peers such as Anthony Boissiere and Harri Kullas.
It was an emphatic and confident performance from Tonus who ended the Grand Prix term with his first podium result at Fermo for the GP of Italy a month ago.
"I'm really happy with how things went because the track was really tough and there were a lot of good riders," he said. "This shows that I have really progressed in the sand as this was one of my weak points in 2009. Overall it has been a good season for me and I have benefitted from being with the team and on such a competitive bike. Fermo was a memorable weekend and I have not stopped training because I want to race Supercross and keep busy."
Tonus will continue to compete in the coming weeks but this time switching to the discipline of Supercross and entering European SX championship rounds in Milan and Genoa as well as the high-profile Bercy SX in Paris on November 19th, 20th and 21st.

 

20/10/2010

"I'm just getting ready to head out of Australia and back to the UK after what has been a hectic trio of races. I'm actually quite glad to see the back of the last three weeks because from a logistics point-of-view it can be a real headache getting everything to the right place at the right time.

"The three-week Pacific tour certainly presents lots of challenges, because the armchair fan, and for that matter the guys watching at the circuit, only get to see the garage when we are all built up and ready to go out on track; so they probably don't realise what goes into making that happen.

"When we go on a fly-away - which is a race outside Europe - we don't have the luxury of our two trucks with their trailer units that carry all the bikes, the equipment, the spares and then also double as the teams' offices when we have unloaded. What we have to do is box all the stuff we need for the race - and in this case it was three races - into over 50 flight-crates of various sizes to have them shipped to the next destination. We carry just over 15,000kgs of equipment with us to make the team function and have everything to hand. Not only do we have the four bikes (two for each rider), but we also have enough spare parts to probably build about four more GSV-Rs as well as all the tools, wheels, pit-box walls, lighting gantry and everything else that goes into making a MotoGP team function - including the tea and coffee making facilities!

"One of the main things is making sure that the boxes are all labelled correctly, with the circuit address and pit-box all properly addressed on each one - we can't have a million Euros worth of Suzuki GSV-R delivered to the wrong address because we put Japan on the label instead of Malaysia! Once we have all the boxes packed and ready to go they are collected from wherever we are and join the rest of the MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc freight to head off to the next destination. All of it gets shipped together on three cargo Jumbo Jets and is then delivered to the next circuit to await the crew's arrival to begin work.

"To give an idea of what this involves, we finished the race in Malaysia and had to make the bikes ready for transportation and pack down the garage, which took about four hours. The flight-cases were then collected and flown to Australia before being delivered to Phillip Island on Wednesday morning, just as the boys arrived at the circuit. The garage was then re-built that morning and they started work on all the bikes in preparation for the weekend and this continued into Thursday so that the GSV-Rs are ready for Alvaro and Loris to go out on track on Friday. We then had the race weekend before we started the progress of breaking down again to send the freight back to Europe for the next race.

"I must admit that it is always a relief to arrive a circuit and find all the boxes there and waiting for us; we've had a couple of times when it has arrived late - and with a few extra dents in it - but as yet we haven't lost anything, which is a tribute to the job the crew does and the shipping companies do to make sure it all gets to the right place at the right time."

LAVERTY FAULTLESS WITH SUNFLOWER HAT TRICK

Team Suzuki Press Office -
Michael Laverty ended the 2010 season in fine style, taking a hat trick of Superbike victories on his Relentless by TAS Suzuki at the Sunflower Trophy Races on Saturday in Northern Ireland.
Laverty dominated all practice sessions, comfortably dipping inside the Bishopscourt circuit lap record on his way to pole position, and when it came to race action, the British Superbike star put in three faultless performances. It takes his Sunflower Trophy success tally to six since 2002 and the 29-year-old now has a phenomenal record of 18 career victories in all classes at the prestigious end-of-season event.
Team mate Alastair Seeley made a number of minor changes throughout the day, improving the set-up on his GSX-R1000 Superbike and ended the day with a podium, as did Relentless by TAS Suzuki debutant James Westmoreland in the Supersport class.

Michael Laverty:
"That was the perfect way to cap off what has been a successful and enjoyable season. It was quite a dominant weekend for us as we lead every practice session and every lap in all three Superbike races. My Relentless by TAS Suzuki was working perfectly and never missed a beat. I was almost a little over confident and when Ian upped his pace during the main event, I was caught off guard and had to respond. I wasn't at my limit and had plenty in reserve, so I managed to pull a small gap and won the Sunflower Trophy for the sixth time. It was an enjoyable day and I'd like to thank the whole team for a big effort and all our sponsors for making it happen."

Alastair Seeley:
"I was a bit frustrated and disappointed but that final race podium lifted my spirits. I got involved in a drag race off the line with Michael in the last Superbike race, but when Marshall dived under me then got ejected, I had to brake hard to miss his bike and Michael got away. Ian then came past and tried to make a break, but I managed to get onto the back of him, although I couldn't quite get the drive I wanted out of the turns to have a go at him. I didn't want to bin it, so I just brought my GSX-R1000 Superbike home for a podium to finish the season on a positive note. I also took a second off my best ever lap around Bishopscourt so I was pretty pleased with that. Thanks to the boys in the workshop and the whole team for a very enjoyable year."
James Westmoreland:
"It was always going to be a difficult weekend on a new bike at a new track, but we were realistic and did a good job in a limited timeframe. It took a bit of time to set the bike up to suit me on Wednesday and Thursday, but I was very impressed with the whole set-up within the Relentless by TAS Suzuki team and really enjoyed riding their GSX-R600. I have to say I was not on the limit with their bike, and had we had a little more time I could have done a lot more, although I was happy to give the team a podium in the second race. That was the icing on the cake. I must say it was a real pleasure to work with team; they worked very hard and did everything they could for me and I gelled well with them. I would like to thank Hector and Philip for the opportunity."

Philip Neill - Team Manager:
"Today was the perfect end to a fantastic season for our team. Everyone has worked so hard and to win the Sunflower Trophy for a fourth time - Michael's sixth- is testament to our group effort. Michael again proved he is a master of the Sunflower event and with his effortless style he never looked like he would be beaten all day, also demonstrating the strength of the Relentless by TAS Suzuki GSX-R1000.
"Alastair also showed progress this weekend by lapping faster than he has ever done before at Bishopscourt, and in his defence he came up against some stiff opposition, which included a World Superbike machine. It was very pleasing to see him end up where he started his season at Brands Hatch: on the podium.
"James Westmoreland joined us for a one-off appearance and with very little track time on an unfamiliar GSX-R600, he posted a podium behind two former World Supersport machines. What made his performance particularly impressive was the fact that he was running a specification we may see in the British Supersport Championship in 2011. Basically the bike had no electronic gimmicks like traction control.
"Finally I'd just like to thank our riders, team members and our loyal sponsors and partners for their support throughout 2010 in what has been a great season for everyone involved."

Sunflower Race: 1 Michael Laverty [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] 11: 12.462; 2 Ian Lowry [Kawasaki] +2.506sec; 3 Marshall Neill [Honda] +9.483; 4 John Laverty [Kawasaki] +9.742; 5 Alastair Seeley [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] +10.331; 6 Barry Burrell [Kawasaki] +16.385.

Superbike Race 1: 1 Michael Laverty [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] 10:09.509; 2 Marshall Neill [Honda] +3.552sec; 3 Ian Lowry [Kawasaki] +3.715; 4 John Laverty [Kawasaki] +3.948; 5 Alastair Seeley [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] +7.653; 6 Brian McCormack [Honda] +16.555.

Superbike Race 2: 1 Michael Laverty [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] 10:07.309; 2 Ian Lowry [Kawasaki] +7.331sec; 3 Alastair Seeley [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] +8.006; 4 Barry Burrell [Kawasaki] +18.269; 5 Michael Dunlop [Honda] +21.856; 6 Brian McCormack [Honda] +25.426.

Supersport Race 1: 1 Marshall Neill [Honda] 10:21.827; 2 Sam Lowes [Honda] +0.122sec; 3 Ben Wilson [Kawasaki] +0.441; 4 James Ellison [Honda] +2.959; 5 Kirk Jamison [Yamaha] +4.792; 6 James Westmoreland [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] +11.186.

Supersport Race 2: 1 Marshall Neill [Honda] 10:24.603; 2 James Ellison [Honda] +0.955sec; 3 James Westmoreland [Relentless by TAS Suzuki] +5.447; 4 Billy McConnell [Yamaha] +5.896; 5 Michael Dunlop [Honda] +6.146; 6 Kirk Jamison [Yamaha] +6.475.