Team Hammer, Inc. will return to its professional road racing roots and field Suzuki GSX-R1000 and GSX-R600 motorcycles in the 2015-2016 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship.
Team Hammer and Suzuki started working together in 1980. Over 32 years the collaboration resulted in hundreds of race wins and many titles, as well as the discovery and early development of dozens of riders who went on to great careers, such as 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz.
“Suzuki Motor of America, Inc., is thrilled to support Team Hammer’s professional road racing enterprise,” said Tak Hayasaki, President of SMAI. “Suzuki and Team Hammer share a passion for road racing competition and a commitment to championship achievements, and we are proud that Suzuki GSX-R sportbikes will again carry Team Hammer racers to success.”
“We’re very happy to be working with Suzuki again,” said Team Hammer Crew Chief Keith Perry. “We’ve won a lot of races and championships with Suzuki GSX-R motorcycles and we look forward to continuing that success in the MotoAmerica series.”
This year will mark Team Hammer’s 35th consecutive season of operating as a professional road racing team. During that time, racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 59 AMA Pro National races, have finished on AMA Pro National podiums 136 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, (the most recent in 2012), as well as two FIM South American championships. The team has also won 133 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and won 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won the F-USA Championship four times.
Details regarding the team’s 2015 MotoAmerica plans will be announced as they are finalized.
More information on Team Hammer is available at www.teamhammer.com.
More information on Suzuki Motor of America is available at www.suzukicycles.com.
