2015 Suzuki MotoGP Testing

Suzuki is ramping up testing as they prepare to re-enter the MotoGP arena for the 2015 season.

We were excited to be one of a select few invited out to the Circuit of The Americas track on Tuesday, April 15th for team Factory Suzuki Racing’s private testing session of the new XRH-1. There is nothing cooler than getting to see a motorcycle like this in person. As the bike is a prototype, very few facts about the bike are firm, but we do know that it weighs well under 400 pounds, and that the engine is putting out 230+ horsepower.

Randy De Puniet ran laps around the COTA track from about 10 in the morning to 5 pm that night. After each set of laps, Randy would pit so that the factory technicians could download technical data from the bike, and make adjustments based on feedback from Randy and the computer systems.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki was also on hand with 8 of their GSXR racebikes, and they ran a significant number of laps throughout the day. Roger Lee Hayden looked spent a lot of time out on the track, and it looked like he really enjoyed the circuit.

Suzuki also had world champion Kevin Schwantz on hand to put in some laps on his Suzuka 8-hour GSXR. Later in the day, the Factory Suzuki team also put a #34 cowling on the GP bike and then Kevin went out and ran a couple of test sessions on the XRH-1. It didn’t take Kevin long to get up to speed, and during the second test session he diced it up with the Team Yoshimura riders.

While most of us like to say that we were fast when we were young, even 20 years after his retirement Schwantz is still crazy fast!

It was a great experience. Thanks to Suzuki Motor of America and the Factory Suzuki Racing team for an extremely memorable experience

Here is Kevin leaving the pits on the XRH-1

And here is Kevin on the XRH-1 leading two of the factory Yoshimura riders down the front straight at the Circuit of The Americas