Kawasaki Out Of AMA Road Racing

Paul Carruthers | December 18, 2009

Whether it’s the dismal economy or a dislike for the current promoters of the series, there’s no arguing that the DMG-run 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing Championship is losing luster and losing it quickly. Today Kawasaki announced that the company will not field a team in the series in the coming season, joining Honda in pulling out and leaving Suzuki, Yamaha and possibly Ducati with factory participation in the series.At least in its press release, Kawasaki blamed the economy as the reason for not going racing.”While we’ve always considered road racing an integral part of our sportbike development process, the realities of the current economic situation dictate the temporary suspension of our U.S. road racing activities,” said Bruce Stjernstrom, marketing director, in a release issued this afternoon.The pullout leaves both Roger Lee Hayden and Jamie Hacking without rides for the 2010 season, as those two rode factory-backed Attack Kawasakis in the 2009 AMA Daytona SportBike class.Kawasaki’s long history of successful road racing includes 20 AMA series championships. Among the many champions who have worn the Kawasaki leathers are Reg Pridmore, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Miguel Duhamel, Scott Russell, Doug Chandler, Eric Bostrom and more recently Tommy Hayden and Roger Lee Hayden.”We expect to see eventual improvements in the general economic condition and Kawasaki will reevaluate its road racing position as we monitor those issues,” said Stjernstrom.