Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates will race on GSX-R1000s in the 2003 AMA Superbike Championship. “Everybody will be on 2003 1000s,” Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki Team Coordinator Rich Doan told Roadracingworld.com Tuesday. “Whether Mr. (Ben) Spies will be running Superbike or Formula Xtreme, I do not know, but Yates and Mladin will be competing in Superbike class on ’03 1000s.”

In a recent test at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park in Pahrump, Nevada, a tight track often used by the Yoshimura team for testing, Yates equaled his best GSX-R750 Superbike lap times on a GSX-R1000. “It was the same (times), but he didn’t have correct suspension components. It was just something that was on the bike,” said Doan. When asked if it was true that Yates’ GSX-R1000 used a 2002 frame and not the 2003 GSX-R1000 frame, which features an adjustable swingarm pivot, Doan answered, “That’s true.”

Whether the Yoshimura team will have complete 2003 GSX-R1000 Superbikes to ride at the upcoming Dunlop tire tests at Daytona International Speedway hasn’t been confirmed. “Probably. It’s still up in the air,” said Doan. “We’re still waiting on parts.”

Doan also confirmed that Tom Houseworth will be Ben Spies’ Crew Chief, Chris Weidl will move up to replace Vic Fasola as Yates’ Crew Chief and Henry Yokota will join Mladin’s existing crew as engine builder. “Henry worked at Yosh from, I think, ’92 through ’97 and left to open up his own business,” said Doan. “He has his own business going and returned to build engines for Mladin.”

While we had Doan on the phone, we asked for his opinion on the proposed rule change to allow electric shifters in AMA Supersport and Superstock racing in 2003. “Oh, to add fuel to the fire?” asked Doan. “It’ll be beneficial for everybody. If people are complaining about the amount of money, it’s the price to go racing. A handful of years ago, people were complaining about tire warmers. Now everybody has tire warmers.

“And it doesn’t blow up transmissions no worse than…if you’re going to miss a shift, you’re going to miss a shift. Transmissions were blowing up a long time before those shifters were around, because stuff does wear out.

“We’re just thrilled about it. We’ve been using them on Superbikes for years, and we just know how beneficial they are on that. Like Jim Rashid wrote in (to Roadracingworld.com), it’s great. Give us more stuff to use. He’s the only one of the smart ones to write in. All these other guys that are complaining, they’re clueless to the true reality. And if they’re complaining that it’s expensive and that, just like Jim said, it’s Pro racing. Don’t come and play. You know?”