Sunday, May 22, 2022
MCNews
  • NEWSLatest
  • REVIEWS
  • LATEST BIKES
  • RACING
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • PRODUCTS
  • MEDIA
    • GALLERY
  • MORE
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • MCNEWS COMMENTS
    • MAIN FORUM
    • CONTACT US
    • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
MCNews
  • NEWSLatest
  • REVIEWS
  • LATEST BIKES
  • RACING
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • PRODUCTS
  • MEDIA
    • GALLERY
  • MORE
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • MCNEWS COMMENTS
    • MAIN FORUM
    • CONTACT US
    • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
MCNews

Suzuki announce AMA Superbike line up

Trev by Trev
January 28, 2015
in American Road Racing, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare

Jake Lewis joins Roger Hayden on Suzuki GSX-R1000 AMA Superbikes

Yoshimura Suzuki has announced its AMA Superbike rider lineup for 2015. Joining veteran Roger Hayden on the squad this season is young up-and-coming road racer Jake Lewis. Hayden and Lewis will be on the legendary Suzuki GSX-R1000 as a new horizon dawns in the 39-year history of AMA Superbike racing, now being run under the auspices of MotoAmerica.

The team is now set for the next couple of seasons with Hayden and Lewis both signing two-year contracts with Suzuki.

Don Sakakura, the highly-respected Senior Vice President of Yoshimura R&D of America, said he’s happy to have Hayden and Lewis on board with the team for 2015 and beyond.

“We know about Roger’s abilities,” Sakakura said. “Those are proven and he’ll be the anchor of the team. We’re also excited to have a rider like Jake Lewis, who has shown so much promise and ability at such a young age. With Roger and Jake being good friends we think they’ll be able to freely share information and feedback with one another and that should help us develop the new bike more quickly. We’re also excited about the new regulations, which allow us to do more with the bikes.”

On the subject of the six-foot, three-inch Lewis Sakakura joked. “We just hope he’s done growing – he said he grew eight inches in one year. I think with his height and leverage he has the potential to do even better on a Superbike than he did on a 600 were he might have felt a little cramped.”

Historically speaking, Yoshimura has some experience nurturing young, lanky road racers. One Kevin Schwantz comes to mind.

Hayden, the youngest of the famous trio of racing brothers from Owensboro, Kentucky, says he is reinvigorated with the new direction of AMA Superbike and the possibility of reaching his goal of winning America’s most prestigious road racing series.

“I’m excited about our new program,” said Hayden, a former AMA Supersport Champion. “It feels good that a team like Yoshimura has enough faith in me to give me a long-term deal. We want to contend for the title, that’s our goal. We know it’s not going to be easy, but we’re going to work hard as a team to try to achieve that goal. I want to be a contender every weekend.”

Hayden said he also looks forward to learning the new-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000s, which will now be nearly identical in technical specifications to World Superbike.

RelatedPosts

MotoAmerica Round Beaubier NJMP Sunday

Beaubier wins his third MotoAmerica Superbike title

September 10, 2018
MotoAmerica Rnd Sonoma Superbikes Sunday

Beaubier does the MotoAmerica double at Sonoma

August 13, 2018

“With the new Superbike regulations the bikes are going to have a little more speed,” he explained. “That should help us. So I’m excited about getting to know the new 2015 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and for the new direction the series is going under MotoAmerica. It’s a great time to be a part of the road racing in America.”

Hayden concluded by saying he was eager to kick off the season and happy with this summer’s schedule.

“It’s great we’ll be racing alongside both of the MotoGP events here in America,” Hayden said of the Austin, Texas, and Indianapolis events. “My family will be able to watch me and my brother (Nicky) racing on the same weekend. I’m also really happy we’re going back to tracks like Road Atlanta and VIR, places that have a lot of tradition and are just really nice tracks.”

Lewis comes to Yoshimura Suzuki with an impressive résumé. The 19-year-old from Princeton, Kentucky, is a former Supersport Champion, finished runner up in Daytona SportBike last season and was Rookie of the Year in 2013 as well as winner of the prestigious AMA Horizon Award in 2011.

He said getting his first factory Superbike ride is a dream come true.

“Ever since I was four-year-old this is what me and my parents worked for,” Lewis said. “To get to the top level of racing here in the U.S. and having a factory ride, it’s the payoff for all of those years of hard work. And to be on a team like Yoshimura Suzuki, it’s a huge opportunity for me.”

Lewis has already had a taste of the new Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike in testing and said it felt like a whole new world compared to the 600cc bikes he’s used to racing.

“”I fit really well on the Superbike, but it’s amazing how much power the bike has,” Lewis explained. “There’s a lot for me to learn. It’s the first time on a bike of this level with all the electronics and my first time on a 1000. It’s a lot to get used to, but I’m feeling more and more comfortable every time on the bike.

“Having a two-year deal puts a lot less pressure on me, and gives me some time to learn, but I still expect a lot out of myself and want to be able to prove I can run up front even in my first season in Superbike. Roger and I are good friends and he’s been a mentor and training partner, so I think learning from him will help me along this year. While we’re buds off the track, we’re both competitive and I know we’ll have some fun battles out there.”

Yoshimura Suzuki has a long and rich tradition in AMA Superbike and is the winningest team in the history of the series with 13 championships dating back to 1979.

The 2015 AMA Superbike season kicks off April 10-12, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Jake Lewis
Jake Lewis
Roger Hayden
Roger Hayden
Tags: AMA SuperbikeJake LewisRoger Hayden
Trev

Trev

Motojourno - Founder of MCNews.com.au - Australia's leading resource for motorcycle news, reviews and race coverage for over 20 years.

Related Articles

Friday round up from Estoril WorldSBK | WorldSSP | WorldSSP300

Friday round up from Estoril WorldSBK | WorldSSP | WorldSSP300

May 21, 2022
Ducati 750 F1 Laguna Seca edition

Ducati 750 F1 Laguna Seca – Last of the ‘real’ Ducatis?

May 20, 2022
John McGuinness reflects on NW200 and looks towards TT

John McGuinness reflects on NW200 and looks towards TT

May 20, 2022
Cape York Motorcycle Adventures' new CFMOTO 800MT

CFMOTO 800MT joins Cape York Motorcycle Adventures fleet

May 20, 2022
Load More

SOCIALS

  • 7.2k Followers

SUPPORT OUR SUPPORTERS

INCASE YOU MISSED

Yamaha Racing Heritage Club - ASI Motoshow 2022

Yamaha Racing Heritage Club on show and in action at Varano

May 17, 2022
Massive MX1 round up from ProMX Round Three in Wodonga

ProMX Images – Wodonga ProMX Images Gallery F

May 18, 2022
Royale Motorcycles - No. 55 GT Production Café Racer

Busted Knuckles Build Off People’s Choice winner announced

May 18, 2022

GET LATEST NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

MCNews

MCNEWS.COM.AU is a specialist on-line resource that provides motorcycle news for motorcyclists. MCNews covers all areas of interest for the motorcycling public including news, reviews and comprehensive racing coverage.

© 2022 MCNews

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • ALL NEWS
    • ALL NEWS CONDENSED
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • BMW News
    • Honda News
    • Husqvarna News
    • KTM News
    • Suzuki News
    • Yamaha News
    • Triumph News
    • CFMOTO News
    • Ducati News
    • Moto Guzzi News
    • Royal Enfield News
    • Kawasaki News
    • Aprilia News
    • Harley News
    • Indian News
    • MV Agusta News
    • Benelli News
    • GASGAS News
    • BETA News
    • Norton News
    • Victory News
    • EBR News
    • Rieju News
    • E-Bike News
    • Scooter News
    • LAMS News
    • ATV / SSV News
  • REVIEWS
    • All Bike Reviews
    • LAMS Reviews
    • KTM Reviews
    • Honda Reviews
    • Yamaha Reviews
    • Triumph Reviews
    • BMW Reviews
    • Suzuki Reviews
    • CFMOTO Reviews
    • Ducati Reviews
    • Kawasaki Reviews
    • Husqvarna Reviews
    • Aprilia Reviews
    • Benelli Reviews
    • BETA Reviews
    • E-Bike Reviews
    • EBR Reviews
    • GAS GAS Reviews
    • Harley Reviews
    • Indian Reviews
    • Kymco Reviews
    • Moto Guzzi Reviews
    • MV Agusta Reviews
    • Norton Reviews
    • Royal Enfield Reviews
    • Scooter Reviews
    • Sherco Reviews
    • Victory Reviews
    • Rieju Reviews
  • NEW PRODUCTS
  • LATEST BIKES
    • ALL LATEST BIKES NEWS
    • BMW
    • Honda
    • Husqvarna
    • KTM
    • Suzuki
    • Yamaha
    • Triumph
    • CFMOTO
    • Ducati
    • Moto Guzzi
    • Royal Enfield
    • Kawasaki
    • Aprilia
    • Harley
    • Indian
    • MV Agusta
    • Benelli
    • GAS GAS
    • BETA
    • Norton
    • Victory
    • E-Bike
    • Scooters
    • LAMS
    • Rieju
  • RACING
    • ALL RACING
    • ROAD
      • MotoGP
      • WSBK
      • ASBK
      • BSB
      • Real Road / TT
      • Historic Road Racing
      • Japan / Asian Road Racing
      • Endurance Road Racing
      • American Road Racing
      • NZ Road Racing
      • Supermoto
      • MiniGP
    • DIRT
      • Supercross
      • AMA MX
      • Australian Pro MX
      • MXGP
      • Enduro / Rally
      • Dirt / Flat Track
      • Speedway
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • GALLERY
  • LATEST COMMENTS
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT US
  • COMMUNITY FORUM

© 2022 MCNews