Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing MotoAmerica Team 2016
This past Wednesday, Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing unveiled its new racing livery for the 2016 Yoshimura Suzuki gsx-https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2015/11/17/2017-suzuki-gsx-r1000-concept-unveiled/ Superbike at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, which will host the season opener in two weeks.
Taking a page out of the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR MotoGP sketchbook, the Yoshimura Suzuki guys and gals have turned out something visually striking. Traditionally, the Yoshimura team has used liveries that were more in line with the consumer market but with the 2016 GSX-R line getting a racey MotoGP make over, the Yoshimura Suzuki team is happily displaying some fine styling out on the track this season.
Present at the unveiling was the Superbike lineup for 2016 which includes Roger Hayden and Jake Lewis, who is currently injured. Moto2 Champion Toni Elias, Lewis’ fill-in for the recent COTA MotoAmerica tests where he finished second, was showing his support as well, standing next to the official Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Superbike team.
“We’re pleased to present the new livery of the team for 2016,” said Don Sakakura, Senior Vice President of Yoshimura R&D of America. “This distinctive color scheme will certainly allow fans to immediately identify that the motorcycle they are looking at is a Suzuki and it’s important for us to build brand recognition by making our race bikes look very similar in appearance to not only Suzuki’s MotoGP machine, but the street version of the GSX-R as well.”
As of this year, this will be the 40th anniversary of MotoAmerica’s AMA Superbike Championship, a championship that Yoshimura Suzuki have been a part of since the beginning, four decades ago. The iconic GSX-R line up was proven here, tested and eventually passed onto us, staring with the GSX-R 750 back in 1986. Still sporting the blue the Suzuki blue, Suzuki has done much to keep one toe in their brand’s history.
The edgy and clean GSX-R styling incorporates fairing and bodywork details aimed at reducing turbulence and drag. The new livery should allow fans and TV viewers to instantly distinguish the bikes as Suzuki.
Yoshimura Suzuki did a lot of work to reduce turbulence and drag for the 2016 livery but more importantly, they wanted to be one of the most easily distinguishable bikes out on the track. And with this new look and the incorporation of Suzuki emblazoned across the entire fairing, it’s hard to miss.
This is one of the best liveries to come from Suzuki’s American racing efforts in a long time. Agree? Disagree? Be sure to share your thoughts below.
