Suzuki GSX-R1000 with Kevin Schwantz livery
Suzuki will celebrate the GSX-R's 30th birthday at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix with a tribute to the man who helped build the fame of the iconic superbike – 1993 GP Champion Kevin Schwantz.
During Indy MotoGP, which runs in conjunction with MotoAmerica, Roger Lee Hayden will pilot a GSX-R 1000 donning special red and black paint. The colors commemorate the livery used by Kevin Schwantz when he debuted the original Suzuki GSX-R750 in AMA Superbikes with Yoshimura back in 1986.
Hayden, who will compete during Indy MotoAmerica Superbike on the GSX-R1000, will wear matching custom gear, and his Yoshimura Superbike team will don commemorative apparel. Suzuki reports that even the GSX-R1000's tire warmers will match the tribute livery.
Suzuki reports that Hayden will also race the special 30th Anniversary colors in the 2015 MotoAmerica finale at New Jersey Motorsport Park in Millville on September 11-13.
"We're excited to be able to do our part to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the GSX-R," said Don Sakakura, Sr. Vice President at Yoshimura R&D of America. "We at Yoshimura are very pleased that we played a part in launching the GSX-R line in America in 1986 with Kevin Schwantz as our primary rider.
"And of course we're proud that the GSX-R went on to become the all-time wins leader in AMA Superbike. We're looking forward to introducing the anniversary livery with Roger Hayden and the team at Indianapolis. It's only appropriate that such an iconic motorcycle be honoured at one of the truly iconic racing circuits of the world."
Kevin Schwantz also commented: "I first rode the GSX-R in 1985 at the Suzuka 8-Hour with Graeme Crosby. We didn't get the Suzuki GSX-Rs in the United States until '86 but raced them in American Superbikes in '86 and '87. I won the Daytona 200 on a Suzuki GSX-R in 1988 and continued to race the 8-Hour all the way through to the 1992 season. The Suzuki GSX-R to me is the definition of a sport bike. When the GSX-R came out it completely changed the definition of a sports bike and it has continued to improve ever since."
About the Suzuki GSX-RThe Suzuki GSX-R line was launched in 1985 for most of the world, but America had to wait until 1986 to get its hands on the bike. The GSX-R is widely considered the first sport bike to truly bring Grand Prix design features to the street. Over its three-decade span, Suzuki's GSX-R line of motorcycles has become one of the most successful and well-known sporting machines in the history of motorcycling.
In America the GSX-R series went on to become the most successful machine in AMA Superbike and Supersport racing with more championships and race wins than any other model of motorcycle. On the club level, the GSX-R helped launch the road racing careers of a generation of riders. Counting the original Suzuki GS series a total of 13 AMA Superbike Championships have been won by riders on Suzukis prepared by Yoshimura R&D.
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