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7/27/2017 11:05am
7/27/2017 11:05am
Edited Date/Time
8/1/2017 5:32am
Brea, Calif, (July 27, 2017) – Suzuki Motor of America, Inc., (SMAI) and RCH Racing today announced the mutual decision to conclude their partnership agreement at the end of the 2017 AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross championship series.
“It’s been a privilege to work with such a driven group of individuals and Suzuki is very appreciative of the hard work and efforts the team has put forth culminating in the 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Championship”, said Kerry Graeber, Suzuki’s Vice President, MC/ATV Sales and Marketing. “The team and Suzuki achieved their respective goals of winning a championship and it’s gratifying to conclude this partnership successfully.”
“As defending AMA Pro Motocross Champions, it’s tough to get to the point where plans evolve and tough business decisions must be made,” said RCH team co-owner Ricky Carmichael. “My partner Carey Hart and I are very proud of our guys and grateful we were able to achieve the success we did as a team. I am also personally looking forward to continuing my long relationship with Suzuki in another capacity as we wind down RCH.”
Carmichael will continue his role as Suzuki Brand Ambassador representing the company, hosting the Camp Carmichael event for Suzuki’s amateur racers, as well as working with Suzuki’s Racing programs and assisting with future product development.
Suzuki will announce further plans for its 2018 Supercross and Motocross Racing efforts in the coming weeks.
The Shop
Wow, pretty crazy that they just won a championship for Suzuki and are closing their doors already. Too bad.
Soooooo...don't tell me that JGR will become the factory Suzuki team.
There are way too little 450 spots as it is and now 2 are gone for 2018.
Open up the 250 class, no age or pointing out rules.
Not to sure Ricky had that much to do with the day to day running,
Other private teams are still running, with Butler Bros being the top one at the moment on results, its a shame we can't keep more well funded teams in the sport,
Just thinking out loud here...not really sure about anything...
Pit Row
The current model doesn't make sense for any team as anything other than either a) a marketing investment or b) a fun thing to do for someone with enough money to not care. And even then, as a marketing investment, this shows that it only really makes sense for companies directly selling motocross products.
This is a big problem guys.
Sucks to loose another top team for sure. Why is too expensive? The excessive criss-crossing the country, the number of events in a year, the amount of staff required, the hardware? Sure is a big problem emerging that needs to be addressed.
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