The Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike team wants to monopolize the top spot on the podium. Period. Of course, it takes more than hard work and “wanting it” to succeed in road racing. Thankfully, Yoshimura’s pedigree of outstanding racing for over five decades has given us the edge when it comes to laying rubber down on the track and organizing a successful race effort. We don’t just work hard; we like to think that we work smart.

The old saying goes, “A racing team is only as good as the sum of its parts.” First and foremost you need to have riders capable of taking a bike to the podium. Next you need a world-class crew to build the machine and maintain it at its full potential. On top of that you have to have management that guides the whole effort in the proper direction, and last but not least, a relationship with the factory that enables access to special parts. Yoshimura is fortunate to have all these things. When you add in Yoshimura’s experience and dedication, and the incredible performance of the Suzuki GSX-R1000, you have a combination that’s hard to beat.

When all the parts of the team are working in synch, it is a thing of beauty. Each racer has a crew, and at the helm is a Crew Chief who oversees the day-to-day progress and runs the crew on race day. The crew usually consists of a few Chassis Mechanics, Electronics/Data Acquisition Specialist, Suspension Specialist, and Engine Builder… just to name a few.

There is also a Team Manager, Team Coordinator, Truck Drivers, PR people, In-house Fabricators and Engine Builders, and numerous other support personnel who work for the overall team. When all of these people work in unison, on an extremely tight schedule, things fall right into place for race season. It’s no small feat to get a large group of diverse people in perfect harmony, but at Yoshimura we’re fortunate to have a long history of doing just that. Though we may be very different individuals away from racing, at the track as a team we are a family. Our family knows that racing Superbikes is one of the hardest jobs we’ll ever love.