Brea, Calif. - March 10, 2010 - American Suzuki Motor Corp. rolled out to Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Fla., with a fleet of amazing machines and top-notch talent to do some racing. With epic battles and undeniable performance, Suzuki definitely made its mark on Bike Week.
The week started with the River Ranch GNCC race, where Suzukis won the pro classes in both bike and ATV racing. Chris Borich, 2009 GNCC ATV champion, took the win in his class after using the power of the QuadRacer R450 to blast past the competition on the last lap of the race. In the XC1 Pro Bike class, Josh Strang took his race-ready RM-Z450 to the top of the podium with a decisive victory over the field of tough competitors.
The AMA American SuperBike series got underway in Daytona, as well. The field had a lot of GSX-R1000s, thanks to the performance and the championship-winning ways of the bike. After first race of the series, where every racer was riding at full power to get across the finish line first, two Suzukis were on the podium: Jake Zemke's National Guard Jordan Motorsports race-winning GSX-R1000 and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki bike piloted by Tommy Hayden in second place. Race #2 saw the same two riders in the same two spots on the podium, and overall 7 of the top 10 spots were held by GSX-R1000s.
Friday night, the legendary Daytona 200 hit the track in cold temperatures and stiff competition. Danny Eslick, aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600 qualified at the top of the ranking and won the Rolex award and the pole position for the race. Eslick battled the conditions and other races and finished fourth.
On Saturday, March 6th, focus shifted from the road-racing GSX-R1000 to the dirt dominating RM-Z450 and all-new, fuel-injected RM-Z250. The AMA Supercross kicked off in front of thousands of fans, and the track was long, technical, and designed by the "Greatest Of All Time" Ricky Carmichael. In the Eastern Regional Lites Class, Austin Stroupe rode his RM-Z250 to the holeshot and then duked it out with the fastest guys on 250s. Stroupe nabbed the second spot on the podium and continues holding tight to the second spot in the series points. Ryan Dungey and his race-prepped RM-Z450 won Heat #1 in the Supercross class, and after a long 20-lap battle in the main event, Dungey came out in second place. He still maintains a 20-point lead in the series points.
And just as the long week of racing began, the GNCC capped off the event with its Maxxis General event in Georgia. In the ATV class, Borich wrangled a second-place finish and has a great start to his 2010 season. In the XC1 bike class, Strang again put the strangle hold on the first-place spot in the class with his RM-Z450. Another Suzuki was on the top of the podium thanks to Rodney Smith in the Sportsman A class, who rode the all-new RMX450Z to its first win.
Suzuki has the machines to dominate off-road and road racing, whatever the discipline may be. Look for Suzuki's winning lineup of bikes and ATVs to be at the top of every list in the 2010 season.
About Suzuki: The Motorcycle/ATV Division of American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC), Brea, Calif., was founded in 1963 by Suzuki Motor Corporation. ASMC markets motorcycles and ATVs via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. ASMC's parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, automobiles and marine engines. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, it has 120 distributors in 191 countries. www.suzukicycles.com.