yosh 'zuki japan to wsbk

[RACER X]

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Yoshimura Suzuki to WSBK in 2010

A statement on the Yoshimura Japan website appears to confirm that the famous tuning company will quit the Japanese Superbike Championship and race in select rounds of the 2010 World Superbike Championship.

Yoshimura has been involved in racing for over 50 years in Japan and runs Suzuki's factory effort in the Japanese Superbike Championship and Endurance races.

However, its US arm (founded in 1971) has caught most worldwide attention due to its incredible success in AMA road racing - most recently with Mat Mladin and a certain Ben Spies.

Mladin won his seventh and final AMA Superbike title for Yoshimura Suzuki in 2009, while in Japan Yoshimura won this year's Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance race and finished a close second in the Japanese Superbike Championship with Daisaku Sakai.

Alstare is presently Suzuki's top WSBK team, but Yoshimura's reputation and close links to the factory is sure to create some healthy competition. It is not thought that the US racing operation will be affected by the WSBK switch.

No riders were announced.