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John Hopkins Takes First Race Win in 11 Years

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It was the first time that an American has won a British Superbike race, and his victory in Race 2 at Oulton Park was John Hopkins’s first race win in 11 years, making the event doubly special for the Anglo-American and his fans. Taking a second place finish in Race 1, Hopkins’s result this weekend was equally impressive as the Oulton track was another venue that the former MotoGP rider had to learn as he went.

Proving to be in top form on the Crescent Suzuki GSX-1000R, Hopper is now fourth in the British Superbike Championship. With a format a bit different than what us Americans are used to, moving into the the top six “Title Fighters” group of riders is tremendously important to winning the overall Championship. In BSB, only the riders who are in the top six in the points standings qualify to compete for the “British Superbike Champion” title, which occurs over the final three rounds of the season.

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Racing

Álvaro Bautista Will Race in Sunday’s Portuguese GP

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In the press release announcing Álvaro Bautista’s intent to race in the Portuguese GP, the heading describes the Spaniard as having “true grit” during today’s Free Practice sessions at Estoril. Now normally with MotoGP press releases, these headings are a bit of hyperbole, but considering just over a month ago Bautista’s femur, the largest bone in the human body, was in two pieces, we’re inclined to agree that the Spanish rider has shown remarkable determination in getting back onto the saddle of the Suzuki GSV-R.

Initial estimates pegged Bautista’s return to be at Le Mans for the French GP, but hard work at his physical therapy sessions, and an obscene amount of time in a hyperbaric chamber have accelerated Bautista’s healing process. With today’s work in the Rizla Suzuki garage showing that he has the ability to ride on his leg just a mere 42 days after he broke it, the young GP rider has earned a lot of street cred in the MotoGP paddock.

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Racing

Álvaro Bautista Hopeful for Estoril Return to MotoGP

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Álvaro Bautista is hopeful that he will return to MotoGP racing this weekend, as Rizla Suzuki heads to Estoril, Portugal for the third round of the season. Bautista was sidelined at the season-opener in Qatar when he broke his left femur during a high-speed crash, and many pegged his return to MotoGP at a much later round, like Le Mans for instance.

To get back in the saddle, Bautista has been undergoing intensive physiotherapy, and will test his fitness on the Suzuki GSV-R during Friday’s first practice session. Should he not be ready to race at the Portuguese GP, Suzuki test rider Nobuatsu Aoki will fill-in for Bautista, as John Hopkins has duties in British Superbike this weekend.

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Banter

Parody: 10 years of the Suzuki DR-Z

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As the weekend approaches and we dream of our Saturday/Sunday milkruns, Fridays here at Asphalt & Rubber always seem to lean a little bit more towards the lighter side of things. Usually it just means a little bit more snark and fun in the tone of our posts, but this week our readers are helping out with the fun.

Posted to our Facebook page, some seemingly disgruntled DRZ owners have made a parody video of the “26 Years of the Suzuki GSX-R” piece that we posted yesterday. While the Suzuki GSX-R has come a long way in its 26 years of development, the DR-Z has, well…you’ll see. Happy Friday, the video is after the jump.

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Banter

Video: 26 Years of the Suzuki GSX-R

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2011 marks another iteration of the venerable Suzuki GSX-R platform, with the GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 getting an overhaul that sees both bikes’ weight lowered to near anorexic levels. Starting with first with the GSX-R750, it’s hard to believe though that this superbike, along with the GSX-R1000 & GSX-R600 can trace their heritage back 26 years, with many of those years being at the pinnacle of motorcycle performance, racing, and design.

To commemorate and highlight the company’s achievements, Suzuki has put together this short video that underlines the models that have come from the GSX-R’s rich history. Some of the technical achievements are pretty astounding when you see when they occurred (for example, electronically adjusted suspension (NEAS) in 1986…that’s just now becoming an optional feature on consumer streetbikes). It’s a pretty neat history lesson on one of the most recognizable brands in the sportbike market. Check it out after the jump.

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Racing

Paul Denning Explains the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R

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While the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R may look the same on the outside as the 2010 machine, but as Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Paul Denning explains, nearly everything on the bike has either been changed, modified, or optimized for the new season. In all fairness, the team really has just continued development of their current race package, but it is interesting to see what changes they’ve made to be more competitive in the 2011 season.

With the team showing improvement and promise during testing at Qatar, Álvaro Bautista’s unfortunate injury will, in the best of conditions, only delay any sort of progress on the results sheets for the GP team. Still Rizla Suzuki managed to score some points with John Hopkins at the helm during a rainy and crash-happy Spanish GP, but Denning and his crew are shooting for better results this season with their single-rider team. Check out the video after the jump as the Rizla Suzuki boss man explains the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R.

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News

Update on the Status of the Motorcycle Factories in Japan

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As Japan continues to battle with the aftermath from its 9.0 earthquake, the Japanese motorcycle industry has been placed into a holding pattern while the country handles more pressing issues. With news that the Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha factories would be temporarily shutting down last week, more news has been released updating us on the status with these companies. Issuing current statements are: Bridgestone, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Check their statuses after the jump.

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News

Honda, Suzuki, & Yamaha Halt Production After Earthquake

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The fallout from the now upgraded 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan, which saw a massive tsunami and nuclear meltdown follow in its wake, has devastated the island nation — for which the true lasting damage will likely take years to fully assess and understand. While the international community continues to rally around Japan, offering support and resources, the resolute country is showing its unwavering calmness and preparedness as it handles an event that many are comparing to those of World War II.

Paled in comparison to the events surrounding it, the Japanese motorcycle industry has naturally been affected by the natural disaster, with Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha releasing press releases describing what measure their business are undertaking in these changing conditions.

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Racing

2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R MotoGP Race Bike Unveiled

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Finally we have all the factory MotoGP bikes officially unveiled in their race liveries (click for the Ducati, Honda, and Yamaha unveilings). Surprising everyone this year with a teal color scheme, Rizla Suzuki is still present in MotoGP, albeit only running one rider for the 2011 season. Taking to the helm of the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R is Alvaro Bautista, who has shown great promise on the otherwise lackluster race bike.

Despite its troubled past, Suzuki has been working hard on turning its toad into a prince, and could be the surprise entry in this year’s MotoGP Championship. We don’t expect the bike to win any races, but a couple surprise podiums do seem attainable for the squad. Photos and technical specifications after the jump.

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Recall

Suzuki Recalls 70,000+ Motorcycles for Faulty Rectifier

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If you’ve bought a Suzuki motorcycle in the past few years, you might want to check out the list for the Japanese company’s latest motorcycle recall. Affecting 73,426 motorcycles from various product lines and model years (2008-2010), Suzuki has discovered a faulty electrical rectifier/regulator in its design that needs replacing.

According to the recall, rectifiers/regulators on bikes built between July 2007 and September 2009 have an inadequate amount of adhesion between the power module and the case, which results in the unit not sufficiently being cooled by its heat sink (affected Suzuki part numbers are: 32800-41F11, 32800-15H10, 32800-05H11, 32800-41G10, 32800-15H00, 32800-18H00, 32800-05G10, 32800-10G10, 32800-05H20, OR 32800-06G01). As a result the unit’s circuit board could warp, and become dislodged from its casing.

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Racing

Honda Goes 1, 2, 3, at Second Day of Testing at Sepang

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The Honda boys were out in full-force today, as MotoGP testing continued at Sepang. With only Toni Elias outside of the Top 7, Honda’s race package for the 2011 season is looking very stout, despite the fact that chassis selections still haven’t been finalized. While landing at the top of the results list is about as useful as yelling “first” in the comments section, Casey Stoner just barely snatched the honor away from Dani Pedrosa in his final lap around the Malaysian circuit, leaving only .058 seconds between the teammates.

Like yesterday, the Yamaha Racing factory squad looked in good form as well, with Spies showing marked improvements despite crashing in one of the sessions. Jorge Lorenzo spent some time on two different bikes, confirming the direction his crew was going with developing the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 for the new season.

Things weren’t progressing as well in the Ducati camp though, as all the teams struggled with front-end issues. Notably absent from the day was Valentino Rossi, who has come down with cold/flu like symptoms. He retired to the hotel, in the hopes of being well enough to ride in tomorrow’s last day of testing. Carrying the Corse flag alone, Nicky Hayden had a tough day that ended with gearbox problems. Still, the ever-positive American was hopeful for better fortunes on Thursday as the team seems to have worked out some chatter issues.

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