TEAM SUZUKI RIDERS FILL THE GATES AT DAYTONA SUPERCROSS
March 7, 2016
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross, FIM Championship made its annual stop at the legendary Daytona International Speedway on Saturday for the 2016 Daytona Supercross. Team Suzuki riders dominated the starting gates at the prestigious event, with more Suzuki riders in the main event than any other brand. And in Qatar, Suzuki’s MotoGP squad continued to turn heads in pre-season tests.
Team Suzuki highlights for last weekend’s racing included:
- A total of six Suzuki RM-Z450 mounted riders making the starting gate in the Daytona Supercross, topping all other brands.
- Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen scoring his seventh top-five finish of the season on his Suzuki RM-Z450.
- Jimmy Albertson and Matthew Bisceglia making the 250 East Supercross main riding Suzuki RM-Z250s.
- Suzuki’s Amateur Racing Team gearing up for the 2016 Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross.
- Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales again proving himself to be one of the most exciting riders to watch ahead of the 2016 season by placing third in the final pre-season MotoGP test in Qatar on the Suzuki GSX-RR road racing machine.
Roczen Remains Steady at Daytona
RCH Suzuki’s Ken Roczen continued his string of solid finishes as a series contender with a fifth in the 2016 edition of the historic Daytona Supercross aboard his RCH Suzuki RM-Z450. Roczen remains second in the AMA Supercross standings with seven rounds remaining.
“I know that everyone on the team is giving 100 percent,” said former Suzuki champion and RCH team principal Ricky Carmichael, who designed the Daytona Supercross track. “We’re going to keep doing the best we can and provide great equipment for our riders giving them the tools to give them the chance to earn their best result.”
Roczen’s teammate Jake Weimer also made the Daytona Supercross main event and finished 17th.
Suzuki Leads the Way with Six Riders Qualifying for the Prestigious Daytona Supercross on Suzuki RM-Z450s
The Suzuki RM-Z450 was the most popular machine in this year’s Daytona Supercross. In addition to RCH Suzuki’s Roczen and Weimer, Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Blake Baggett, HLTN CO Suzuki’s Josh Grant, Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki’s Kyle Cunningham and Nicholas Schmidt on his TPJ/Fly Racing/Suzuki all made the Daytona Supercross final. With six riders aboard the powerful and nimble-handling RM-Z450, that made Suzuki the predominant brand in this year’s prestigious Daytona Supercross.
Solid Returns for Suzuki riders Grant and Baggett
Josh Grant came to Florida to do some fishing and along the way he entered his first race of 2016 on his HLTN CO Suzuki RM-Z450. Grant exceeded all expectations by scoring an impressive seventh in his first race back.
Former Daytona 250 East winner Blake Baggett made his return to racing as well and scored his second finish of the season on the Yoshimura Suzuki with a 13th. Baggett’s Yoshimura Suzuki teammate James Stewart crashed in his heat race, suffering deep bruising to his lower back and was unable to make the main.
Suzuki RM-Z250 Riders Make Daytona 250 East Main
The support class to the Daytona Supercross was the 250 East Region Supercross race. Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki’s Jimmy Albertson and MAD Racing/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Matthew Bisceglia both made the main and finished 16th and 19th respectively aboard their RM-Z250s.
In addition to the riders who made the main, Team Suzuki was well represented in the evening program at Daytona with Kyle Cunningham (Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki), Frenchman Thomas Ramette (SR75/Molson Suzuki) and Alexander Nagy (Team MicroBilt/PRBC Suzuki) qualifying their Suzuki RM-Z450s inside the “Fast 40”.
Vicki Golden qualified 48th out of 52 riders in the 250 East class at Daytona on her Team MicroBilt/PRBC Suzuki as she continues to strive towards her goal of becoming the first female to qualify for an AMA 250 Supercross main event.
Team Suzuki Amateur Racing was also on hand for the 2016 Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross at Daytona, making their official team debut for 2016. In addition, Suzuki’s Trackside Support truck was on site to provide support for up-and-coming Suzuki riders throughout the two-day event.
The AMA Supercross series now heads north of the border this Saturday, March 12 with its annual visit to Toronto, Canada and the Rogers Centre. The race will be shown live on Fox Sports 1 starting at 7:00 pm Eastern.
Suzuki Continues Strong Pre-Season MotoGP Test Results
Under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales again proved himself as one of the leading riders ahead of the 2016 MotoGP season. He finished the three-day test – the final pre-season test before the MotoGP kicks off later this month – third fastest overall on the Suzuki GSX-RR MotoGP machine. The 2016 MotoGP season kicks off on March 20th in Qatar.
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