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SUZUKI NEW ZEALAND LIMITED- Press Release:
Website -
www.suzuki.co.nz:
SUZUKI WINS INTERNATIONAL
BIKE OF THE YEAR AGAIN.
Suzuki\'s race winning GSX-R1000 has been named International Bike of the Year for 2003 again!
For the second time in just three years Suzuki\'s benchmark sportsbike has beaten the best in the world to win the most prestigious award in the global motorcycle market.
The International Bike of the Year is voted on by a panel of judges from leading motorcycle magazines in eleven countries around the world.
The panel has to consider many aspects of a motorcycle’s design including each contender’s performance, engineering innovation, quality and affordability.
The 988cc fuel-injected Suzuki won the award in 2001, following on from the GSX-R750, which won the award in 2000.
The latest win marks the sixth time in the past eight years Suzuki has won the award, underscoring the company’s uncompromising approach to sports bike design and production.
For the 2003 model year, Suzuki revamped the GSX-R1000 in several significant areas, including weight reduction and improving rider comfort.
Having created the ultimate sports bike package, the GSX-R1000 Suzuki impressed the IBOTY judges with its stunning power delivery, responsive chassis and excellent build quality.
For the last three years Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 has been the bike to beat in international competition, winning virtually everything worth winning around the world.
The International Bike of the Year award caps off another stellar year for Suzuki, with the GSX-R1000 having dominated on racetracks around the globe, starting with the New Zealand Production Superbike Championship in February.
This year was no different.
Across the Tasman, the GSX-R1000 swept this year\'s Australian Superbike Championships, taking first and second place. In fact, since its introduction in 2001 the GSX-R1000 has been undefeated in the Australian Superbike Championship, securing three successive titles.
It also took first and second placings in the U.S. Superbike Championship, as well as sweeping all the major classes at the Isle of Man TT.
And in Europe, the 988cc Suzuki took national titles in Spain, Germany and England, as well as the 2003 European Superstock Championship and the Masters of Endurance Series.
In addition, it swept four out of the top five placings in the 2003 World Endurance Championship.
Here\'s Suzuki\'s tally of major wins with the GSX-R1000 in 2003:
2002-‘03 NZ Production Superbike Championship (Andrew Stroud)
Australian Production Superbike Championship (Craig Coxhell)
European SuperStock Championship (Farbrizio Michel)
British Superstock Championship (Andy Tinsley)
Isle of Man 1000 Production TT (Shaun Harris)
Isle of Man Formula One TT (Adrian Archibald)
USA Superbike Championship (Mat Mladin)
USA Formula X-treme Championship (Ben Spies)
German Superbike Championship (Stefan Niebel)
Spain Formula Extreme Championship (José David de Gea)
Masters of Endurance (Suzuki Endurance Racing Team)
World Endurance Championship (Suzuki GB Phase One)
So it\'s little wonder the GSX-R1000 also picked up the International Bike of the Year award – an award that Suzuki has virtually \'owned\' for the past six years. Here\'s the International Bike of the Year roll call since 1996:
1996 Suzuki GSX-R750W
1997 Suzuki TL1000S
1998 Yamaha YZF-R1
1999 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa
2000 Suzuki GSX-R750Y
2001 Suzuki GSX-R1000
2002 Yamaha YZF-R1
2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000
