Former Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz has been making the headlines a lot recently, and not necessarily for good reasons. But finally there’s some good news: Schwantz is  coming out of retirement to race in the 2013 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.

Schwantz is joining Yukio Kagayama‘s team for the July 28 race, riding a Japanese Superbike-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000. Schwantz will be Team Kagayama‘s third rider, behind Kagayama and former World Superbike star Noriyuki Haga.

The last month and a half had been a trying period for Schwantz when it should have been a positive experience with the first ever MotoGP race to be held in his home state of Texas. In a perfect world, Schwantz would have been the event’s promoter, playing the welcome host to the Grand Prix circus. Instead, Schwantz has been surrounded by controversy. Continue Reading »

The story leading up to the opening round of the 2013 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike season was whether anyone would be able to keep up with defending champion Josh Hayes. After all, the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider dominated the competition last season winning 16 of 20 races including a string of 10 in a row.

The season-opening round at Daytona International Speedway appeared to start on script with Hayes qualifying in pole position. But when the real racing began, the plot began to veer off course for Hayes due to mechanical problems.

Hayes was off to a good start in Race 1, but he may have pushed too hard for the lead, damaging his clutch. Hayes slowed down considerably on Lap 5, ceding the lead to his teammate Josh Herrin with Yoshimura Suzuki‘s Martin Cardenas close behind. Cardenas was a close second just 0.135 seconds behind. Formost Insurance Pegram Racing‘s Larry Pegram finished 7.539 seconds back on his Yamaha R1 to complete the podium. Continue Reading »

Michael Jordan Motorsports revealed its racing livery for its 2013 AMA Superbike Championship Suzuki GSX-R1000 racebikes. The 2013 racebikes will sport a wavy blue camo pattern inspired by the new Nike Air Jordan XX8 sneaker. The team unveiled the new livery on the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) in Chicago, where the team was founded and, more notably, where team owner Michael Jordan won six NBA championships with the Bulls.

The two-time AMA Daytona Sportbike Champion Danny Eslick joins the team after racing last season with the Erik Buell Racing team. Eslick will ride the #23 Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. He’ll be teamed with the Roger Hayden who returns for 2013 riding the #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. Continue Reading »

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released an updated list of motorcycles homologated for the 2013 Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock racing season. Notable additions include the new BMW S1000RR HP4, the MV Agusta F3 and the Superbike-spec Ducati 1199 Panigale R.

To qualify a production-based racebike for FIM homologations, manufacturers have to meet certain production thresholds. Manufacturers must first produce 125 units ahead of a homologation inspection. After that, manufacturers have to produce a minimum of 500 units by June 30 and 1000 units by December 31 of the current year, and a minimum of 2000 units by the December 31 of the following year.

Production counts include both ABS and non-ABS versions of the same model, and at least 250 units of each version have to be produced. Production models must also be available for sale in either the U.S., Europe or Japan by the end of April of the current year to qualify. Continue Reading »

Reigning AMA Daytona Sportbike Champion Martin Cardenas has signed on to race in the AMA Superbike class for Yoshimura Suzuki. The move was rumored to be in the works for quite some time now, especially following Cardenas’ release from the final year of his contract with his former employer Team Hammer.

Cardenas will return to the Superbike class this season, riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000 alongside teammate Chris Clark. Cardenas last raced in the class during the 2011 season, finishing fourth overall with a single race victory. That lone Superbike season was sandwiched by championship-winning campaigns in the 2010 and 2012 Daytona Sportbike class where Cardenas rode a Suzuki GSX-R600.

“I am extremely happy to have the opportunity to race for one of the best, if not the best, Superbike teams in the U.S.,” says Cardenas. “It’s really a dream come true to become part of the Yoshimura Suzuki team. I will give everything I have to try to obtain the best results for the team and for me. And hopefully I will be in the mix for the top spot in the championship.” Continue Reading »

Last week, we wrote about retired Formula One racer Michael Schumacher taking part in a track day at France’s Paul Ricard circuit on a Ducati 1199 Panigale. The event’s sponsor, Monster Energy, has released a video offering a behind-the-scenes look at the event.

The seven-time F1 champion was joined by TT racer John McGuinness, retired MotoGP racer Randy Momola, Moto2 racer Pol Espargaro and Keith Flint, a musician from the group Prodigy and a racer in the U.K.’s  Hottrax Endurance Championship.

Schumacher rode on a Panigale dressed in the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team’s gray color (perhaps a bit awkward considering Ducati‘s new owner Audi). As expected, McGuinness rode on his Honda TT Legends team’s CBR1000RR, and Espargaro on his FTR Kalex Moto2 bike. Mamola rode a Yamaha YZF-R1,while Flint rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 endurance racer to complete the varied collection of sportbikes.

Check out the video after the jump, and especially the shot of the four riders pulling wheelies just after the 3-minute mark. Continue Reading »

Attack Performance Racing and GPTech made history this year as the first teams to build and enter motorcycles under MotoGP’s Claiming Rule Team rules as a  wild card entry. Both teams will race again, receiving wild card invites to all three U.S. rounds in the 2013 MotoGP season.

Attack Performance debuted at the Laguna Seca round but failed to qualify due to a fuel pump problem, but returned weeks later for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, finishing 14th overall and earning two championship points with Steve Rapp riding a Kawasaki ZX-10R-based race bike. Indianapolis Motor Speedway also saw the debut of GPTech‘s Suzuki GSX-R1000-based machine which Aaron Yates piloted to 16th place. Continue Reading »

Suzuki is celebrating the production of the 1 millionth motorcycle in the GSX-R family with a limited edition model.

Unveiled at the 2012 Intermot show in Cologne, Germany, the Millionth Edition 2013 Suzuki GSX-R1000 comes with a commemorative paint scheme, black Brembo brake calipers, pin-striped wheels, gold fork tubes and red fork caps, suspension spring and nose.

The top yoke also features a numbered Millionth Edition plate and the key is decorated with Suzuki’s red “R” logo. Continue Reading »

Suzuki is issuing a recall for 2009-2011 GSX-R1000 because of a potential failure of the side stand interlock switch.

The interlock switch is what cuts off the ignition circuit on a motorcycle when the side stand is down and the transmission is in any gear except neutral. Its purpose is to prevent a motorcycle from moving with the stand deployed.

According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the bolts connecting the interlock switch to the side stand on 2009-2011 Suzuki GSX-R1000 models may come loose, allowing the switch to rotate. This may cause the switch’s plunger to come out, as if the side stand were deployed, cutting the ignition and stopping the engine. The problem is caused by small diameter bolt flanges causing a buckling of the interlock switch body. Continue Reading »

America is starting to become a hotbed for wild card Claiming Rule Team entries in MotoGP. First there was Attack Performance getting awarded a wild card for the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and the Indianapolis Grand Prix at The Brickyard. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will see another U.S.-based wild card, this time it’s Indiana-based GP Tech preparing its own CRT machine.

GP Tech has drawn wild cards at the Indianapolis Grand Prix before, in the Moto2 class. In 2010, GP Tech prepared an FTR chassis for Jason DiSalvo and in 2011, GP Tech prepared another FTR race machine for Jake Gagne. DiSalvo finished ninth in the 2010 race while Gagne (pictured above) was 31st in 2011.

This time, GP Tech is taking advantage of the new CRT classification to compete in the premier MotoGP class. While Attack Performance is mounting a Kawasaki ZX-10R engine in a custom-built frame, GP Tech is teaming up with the Vesrah Suzuki/MCJ Motorsports team to build a race bike powered by a Suzuki GSX-R1000 engine with a billet aluminum frame by BCL Motorsports. Continue Reading »