2013 Suzuki Boulevard M90 Vz 1500 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Rainy BSB tests are nothing new

THE combination of bad weather in the UK and a European testing ban means that most BSB teams will now start the season with very little track time. This sounds like a disaster for the top teams but history has proved this isn’t necessarily true and it sometimes doesn’t matter how much pre season preparation has taken place.  Back in 2002 Sean Emmett won on the IFC Ducati at the opening Silverstone round after first riding it in unofficial practice the same weekend. Steve Hislop took the other win on Pauls Bird’s well sorted Ducati. More recently in 2009, Leon Camier took an untested new model R1 Yamaha to victory at the Brands Hatch opener after GSE took delivery of the bike just the week before. Sylvain Guintoli won the other race on a well developed, well tested Crescent Suzuki. You could argue if no one has had testing then it is a level playing field but you have to feel for riders moving up to the superbike class in the world’s toughest national series.  Tyco Suzuki’s PJ Jacobson is one such rider but having spent some time with him over the past few weeks he seems to be taking it all in his stride. It may be the confidence of youth or maybe the fact he has won in every other class he has entered in his short BSB career, but I suspect he fancies at least standing on the Superbike podium at Brands (He also does a bit of ice racing which is not dissimilar to the this year’s UK testing).  The testing ban was implemented with all the best cost cutting intentions and if it had been any other year in the past decade all would be well. The teams may be feeling frustrated but the fans should be excited. With so many unknowns, the 2013 BSB opener at Brands Hatch could be the best ever!

John Hopkins Loses Fingertip [Warning: Graphic Image May be a Shocker]

Following numerous procedures and some complications, American racer John Hopkins has undergone surgery to remove the tip of his right ring finger. The Crescent Suzuki racer initially injured the finger in a crash while competing as a MotoGP wild card entry for Rizla Suzuki in the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno in August. Since then, Hopkins underwent six procedures to repair his finger to no avail.

Suzuki Forms Joint Venture for Developing Fuel Cell Technology

Suzuki announced it is partnering with U.K.-based Intelligent Energy Holdings to form a joint venture for developing fuel cell systems. The new joint venture, SMILE FC System Corporation, will work on developing fuel cell systems for both motorcycles and automobiles. Intelligent Energy, with its fuel cell expertise and Suzuki, with its mass production capabilities, will each have 50% share of SMILE FC.