Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer are thrilled to announce that Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Suzuki GSX-R with a special commemorative livery for the final two races of the 2025 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season. The special livery is inspired by the new 2026 Suzuki GSX-R1000/R introduced at the famed Suzuka Eight Hour Endurance race in August.
Suzuki’s line of GSX-R motorcycles are among the most iconic in two-wheeled history. For many, the Suzuki GSX-R is the definitive sportbike. Revolutionary in its focus, light weight, serious power, and all-around effectiveness, the Suzuki GSX-R earned legendary status among street and track riders alike from the moment of its introduction.
The Suzuki GSX-R has stacked up countless accolades and accomplishments over four decades of competition. Among the many highlights are Superbike and Supersport titles, a MotoGP World Championship taken by the GSX-RR prototype, and dozens of national championships spanning the globe.
However, perhaps nowhere has the Suzuki GSX-R reigned so supreme as in the United States. To date, the Suzuki GSX-R has scored 12 AMA/MotoAmerica Superbike titles, along with Supersport, Formula Xtreme and Superstock championships. Throughout its proud history, it’s been the weapon of choice of some of the sport’s all-time greats, including the likes of Kevin Schwantz, Mat Mladin, Ben Spies, Martin Cardenas, Toni Elias, Roger Hayden, John Hopkins and many more.
Team Hammer has played a key role in that remarkable success over the years, having raced the GSX-R since they were introduced in 1985. The vast majority of the team’s 135 AMA/MotoAmerica race victories and 11 national championships have come aboard various incarnations of the GSX-R, as did 20 national titles claimed across WERA National Endurance and Formula USA competition.
Team Hammer owner John Ulrich said, “It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was throwing a leg over a GSX-R for the first time at the initial press launch in Japan in 1985. Compared to everything else, it was so light and powerful and compact, Suzuki redefined what a sport bike was.
“It’s amazing that 40 years later, we are still racing the Suzuki GSX-R. It’s a testament to the original design concept of building something as light and compact and powerful as possible. Suzuki has stuck with that idea and kept improving what could be done. They came back with something just as revolutionary in 1996 and 2017 as they continuously redesigned the bike.
“Suzuki has always had a lot of excellent individuals working to make the GSX-R line as strong as possible, and Suzuki in America has believed in racing even in times when others quit. They improved the GSX-R time and time again, and it has served them well. The GSX-R models are the symbols of Suzuki performance and all that motorcycles can do.”
Kerry Graeber Suzuki Motor USA Senior Vice President shared his sentiments about the legendary GSX-R lineage. “There is no overstating the importance of the GSX-R to the Suzuki brand. Since the first GSX-R rolled off the line in 1985, over 1.2 million units have been produced. Representing everything we stand for as a company in terms of engineering and performance excellence, the GSX-R, in all its iterations, is a beloved motorcycle among serious enthusiasts. We’re thrilled the new 2026 GSX-R1000/R is set to continue that legacy and looking forward to seeing Team Hammer’s commemorative race bikes at COTA this weekend.”
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