Altus Motorsports and their rider Jaret Nassaney will be the fourth MotoAmerica Supersport rider to compete aboard the “Next Generation” Suzuki GSX-R750. Nassaney joins Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Supersport riders Sam Lochoff, Tyler Scott, and Liam Grant, who will also be aboard Suzuki 750s at VIR.
For Nassaney, Scott, and Grant, this will be their first race weekend aboard the GSX-R750. At Road Atlanta last month, Sam Lochoff became the first Supersport rider anywhere in the world to compete aboard the machine in an FIM-sanctioned race. The South African rider finished second in both races at Road Atlanta.
According to Altus Motorsports team owner George Nassaney, they received their electronic throttle kit from Team Hammer just in time to install it on the bike, and fire up the machine. But what about testing the bike on track?
Nassaney said that, while they had a plan to do a test, the parts weren’t delivered in time to make that happen before this weekend’s MotoAmerica event at VIRginia International Raceway.
We spoke with Jaret Nassaney in the VIR paddock on Friday, and he confirmed that he hasn’t been able to ride the bike yet. “My first time on the bike will be tomorrow morning when we go out for Supersport Practice 1.
Jaret Nassaney’s crew chief Eric Gray explained that the team’s new GSX-R750 is nearly identical to the GSX-R600 that Jaret’s been riding for the past couple of years. “Same frame, same fuel tank, even the external engine dimensions are the same. What’s inside the engine is a little different, of course.” And the electronic throttle kit, required for the GSX-R750 per FIM and MotoAmerica rules, is different from the GSX-R600, with its conventional cable-operated throttle.
George Nassaney offered special thanks to MotoAmerica Technical Director Tige Daane for his help in getting the bike cleared for competition. “Tige was a big help,” George said. “He worked closely with us to make sure everything is good to go.”
Jaret Nassaney’s, Tyler Scott’s, and Liam Grant’s first MotoAmerica laps on the Supersport Next Generation Suzuki GSX-R750s will commence on Saturday morning from 9:40 to 10:05 a.m. Eastern during Supersport Practice 1 at VIR.
We also checked in with 3D Motorsports, who have their own Suzuki GSX-R750 for which they are awaiting the electronic throttle kit from Team Hammer in order to make their bike legal for Supersport. A team representative said they had hoped that their rider Luke Power would have been aboard the three-quarter-liter machine this weekend at VIR. However, the necessary parts are still on order from Team Hammer, and they expect that Power and the team will debut the bike at Road America on June 3 through 5.
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