From a press release issued by Octagon Motorsports, oraganizers of the FIM Endurance World Championship Series:

2003 Permanent Teams Announced

20 Teams, 15 Nations, 5 Manufacturers, 4 Classes

The list of the twenty teams that have been selected to compete with permanent status in all rounds of the FIM World Endurance Championship has been announced.

15 Nations

Fifteen nations are represented amongst the twenty teams. The USA, Australia, China and Japan are all represented, with a particularly strong showing from the UK, France, Italy and Germany. There are two Swiss teams entered, one team from Sweden, one from Austria and one from Slovakia. The current World Champion – Zongshen Team of China – have four different nations represented by their riders, with an Australian / Belgian pairing on the number 1 bike and a French / Slovenian team on the number two bike, and the German KSM Herber team also have a Czech rider.

5 Manufacturers

The World Endurance Championship is renowned for innovation, and recent years have seen a number of
manufacturers testing their bikes in endurance before embarking on a full programme of competition. For 2003, Team X-One will be campaigning a Mondial Piega for the full season, alongside the Suzuki GSXR1000, Yamaha R1 and Kawasaki ZX9R entries. Ducati fans will also welcome the debut of the Ducati 999R in the hands of the Ducati Marchetti Team, proven podium finishers in 2002.

4 Classes

Ducati Marchetti’s Ducati 999R will compete in the “ultimate modification” Superbike (SBK) class, joined for this season by Yamaha Austria’s Yamaha R1. The Austrian team will be taking full advantage of the 2003 rule change that allows 1000cc four cylinder bikes to run in this class if they are fitted with intake air restrictors. Choosing the SBK class will allow them much greater freedom when tuning the engine compared with the SuperProduction (SPR) where the other Yamaha R1 and Suzuki GSX-R1000, and will provide some interesting comparisons over the season.

The team X-One Mondial Piega will run in the Open Class which caters for innovative machines, and Yamaha Maco Moto Slovakia will run in the Stocksport (STK) class for virtually standard machines.

2003, March 8

2003 World Endurance Championship Calendar

May 4 San Marino Imola 200 Miles
May 25 Holland Assen 200 Miles
June 15 Czech Republic Brno 6 Hours
June 28-29 Spain Albacete 12 Hours
July 20 Austria A1-Ring 6 Hours
August 3 Japan Suzuka 8 Hours
August 24 Germany Oschersleben 24 Hours
October 5 Italy Vallelunga 200 Miles


2003 PERMANENT TEAM ENTRY LIST

1. Suzuki Zongshen 1 – CHN – Nowland (AUS), Mertens (BEL) – SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

2. Suzuki Zongshen 2 – CHN – Bonhuil (FRA), Jerman (SLO) – SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

3. Suzuki GB Phase 1 – GBR – Pridmore (USA), Ellison (GBR), Four (FRA), Lindstrom (SWE) – SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

4. Suzuki KSM Herber – GER – Herber (GER), Bursa (CZE), Persson (SWE)- SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

5. Ducati Marchetti – ITA – Marchetti (ITA), Garcia (FRA) – DUCATI 999 R

6. Suzuki GB Phase Junior – GBR – Jessop(GBR),Cerr(GBR),Fincher (GBR) – SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

8. Kawasaki Bolliger Team – SUI – Kellenberger (SUI), Stamm (SUI), Jerzenbech (GER), Nystrom (SWE)- KAWASAKI ZX-9 R

9. Yamaha Austria Racing Team – AUT – Wilding (AUT), Saiger (AUT), Truchsess (AUT), Kainz (AUT)- YAMAHA YZF-R1

10. Suzuki Trackdaze 10 – GBR – Kingston (GBR), Brasher (GBR), Agombar (GBR), Stocker (GBR)-SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

11. Suzuki Trackdaze 11 – GBR – Hutchins (GBR), King (GBR), Falcke (GBR), Collins (GBR)- SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

12. Yamaha Fagersjo-el.se – SWE – Carlberg (SWE), Notman (GBR), Higgings (GBR)- YAMAHA YZF-R1

14. Suzuki Jet Team – SUI – Jaggi (SUI), Monot (FRA), Waldemeier (SUI), Pelleriti (SUI)- SUZUKI GSXR 1000

15. Suzuki Hofmann Racing – GER – Spenner (GER), Schmassmann (SUI), Albrecht (GER), Reisse (GER)- SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

16. Suzuki Rookie Racing Team – GER – Roth (GER), Plantius (GER), Wegscheider (GER), Hecker (GER)- SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

18. Yamaha Maco Moto Slovakia – SLK – Kuzma (SLK), L.Bucek (SLK), J.Bucek (SLK), Fabry (SLK)- YAMAHA YZF-R1

22. Suzuki 22 Police Nationale – FRA – Giabbani (FRA), Blora (ITA), Kishida (JPN), Cauchard (FRA)- SUZUKI GSX-R 1000

38. Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 – FRA – Cazade (FRA), Brian (FRA), Hacquin (FRA), Cuzin (FRA) – YAMAHA YZF-R1

44. Suzuki No Limits – ITA – Codeluppi (ITA), Ruozzi (ITA) – SUZUKI GSX- R 1000

94. Yamaha GMT 94 – FRA – Guyot (FRA), Scarnato (FRA) – YAMAHA YZF-R1

7. Mondial X One – ITA – Bargiacchi (ITA), Perselli (ITA) Mondial Piega (Open)