Zongshen Will Run Suzukis In World Superbike, Will Pay $90,000 For Spec Pirellis

Zongshen Will Run Suzukis In World Superbike, Will Pay $90,000 For Spec Pirellis

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Zonghshen manager Michel Marqueton has confirmed that the team will switch from the Endurance World Championship to the Superbike World Championship for 2004 and 2005, and has revealed that participating teams have to pay Pirelli $45,000 per rider for spec tires.

The Zongshen team won the Endurance World Championship in 2002. In 2003 the team won the first five races of the eight-race series and took pole for all but one race.

“Yes, it’s true,” wrote Marqueton in an e-mail response to an inquiry from Roadracingworld.com. “I signed an agreement with Paolo Flamini, to participate at the World Superbike Championship with Warwick Nowland and Piergiorgio Bontempi.” Marqueton added that the team will continue to run GSX-R1000 Suzukis.

“For 2004 we switched to SBK for two reasons,” explained Marqueton. “The main reason is that, in China all the major media are interested in what we do. It’s not like in occidental countries, where only the specialized media speak about motorcycle racing. China is the biggest motorcycle producer of the world. Chinese people like everything new and everything fashionable. Racing is also a fashion. If we don’t create something new, few by few, people will forget us and it will be lost for China, because we are actually the only Chinese team participating in a World Championship.

“Now, I would like to bring a new World Championship title to China. As long as we are growing, people are interested. I don’t want to do like some of teams, spending all their life in endurance. After one world title, I think there is no more value to get another one. Anyway, I still have a lot of work to do. After SBK, there is GP and after GP, there is industry.

“The second reason, is more personal. In 2003, the winner of the World Endurance Championship did not win any race, did not take any pole position, where is the racing? Look also the case of A1 Ring. All the teams feel cheated, except one. Where are the rules?

“About the new tire rule, the idea is very nice, to make everybody equal. But this is a little bit less nice for the teams which were sponsored by a tire maker (like us). This coming year, I will pay $90,000 for two bikes. I prefer spending this money at restaurant… but now, we will get the certitude that all the teams, included factories, will get the same tires.”

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