Team Suzuki Press Office – August 13.
The JGRMX/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Racing and Twisted Tea H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki racers are eager to start the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series as the season kicks off at the famed Loretta’s Lynn’s Ranch in Tennessee this weekend after a long delay.
Joey Savatgy will make his Suzuki racing debut aboard his JGR-tuned Suzuki RM-Z450 alongside 450 teammate Fredric Noren. Alex Martin and his Suzuki RM-Z250 will represent the JGRMX team in the 250cc class, while Max Anstie – fresh off a moto win in the 2019 World Championship series – sets his sights on American MX wins aboard his H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki RM-Z450 with teammate Adam Enticknap.
Savatgy joins the battle after a pre-season injury postponed his U.S. racing debut with the Suzuki team. Savatgy is healed up and his RM-Z450 ready for the nine-round 2020 Outdoor Motocross season. ‘Versace’ has the speed, equipment, and support to add to his seven career MX wins.
Said Savatgy: “I’m just excited to be back racing. I haven’t raced in the U.S. in almost a year. I’m feeling good and the injury is all healed up. The team and I have put in the work and it’s up to me to go execute.”
Martin has come within a single position of winning the 250 Outdoor MX title in two of the past four years. Growing up with one of the series’ venues on his family’s property, ‘A-Mart’ is a natural at the high speeds and gritty racing of motocross. The extended break between the Supercross series and the first Outdoor round has given Martin that much more time to reacclimate to his racing specialty – outdoor motocross.
“I’m very excited to be going back to the races and grateful that [series promoter] MX Sports and the teams were able to figure out a way for us to race this summer.” Martin is ready to lead more laps and pull in some outdoor wins. “The work has been done, it’s time to see where we stack up,” added Martin.
Noren joined the JGRMX team last summer as a mid-season fill-in rider; the Swedish rider’s results improved instantly once moving onto the responsive RM-Z450. With a full supercross season on the 450cc machine, look for ‘Fast Freddie’ to turn heads and be a threat for podiums early in this summer’s racing.
Said Noren: “It’s going to be awesome to be back at the races with the team. We’ve been getting everything ready. Testing and practicing have been really good so I can’t wait ’till Saturday!”
Team Manger Jeremy Albrecht added: “This is the first season in a long time that I have been this excited to see these guys race. All three of these guys are ready and we have the potential to have our best outdoor season yet. We are ready to get back to racing!”
Anstie returns to racing in America after seven years away, and he’s doing it through Twisted Tea H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki’s first full season of contesting the AMA Motocross series. Anstie is an outdoor specialist, with MXGP and MX2 World Championship victories and moto wins as well as an historic 2017 individual overall win at the Motocross of Nations. The sand track specialist looks to do well on the American tracks.
“I’m looking forward to the Pro Motocross Championship,” said Anstie about his return to the U.S. “The team and I have been working hard and we are as ready as we can be. I’m excited to go racing!”
Supercross specialist Enticknap, affectionately known as the ‘Seven Deuce Deuce’ and who’s previously only contested select outdoor rounds, will give his first full-season assault on the outdoor tracks as part of Twisted Tea H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki’s first foray into full-time summer racing.
“Racing is what I love, and I’m ready for a gate drop. With times being so uncertain lately, it’s a beautiful thing to be going racing!” Enticknap enthused. Twisted Tea H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki and Noleen have put a great bike underneath me. We put countless hours of effort in after the Supercross season, and I am excited for the start of the nationals.”
Another interesting face lining up on a Suzuki motocross machine is Dilan Schwartz. The young Schwartz makes his professional racing debut after capping off his amateur career with two podium overall finishes and one moto victory in the Open Pro Sport and 250 Pro Sport premiere classes at the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships. The first rider to have had access to the complete RM ARMY racer development program, Schwartz will line up at round one on a BarX/ Chaparral/ Fly/ Suzuki RM-Z250.
“I’ve been wanting to race professional since I was a little kid and have been working toward that goal nonstop,” said Schwartz during the week that bridges his amateur to professional career. “To get the news that I get to race a few outdoors – I was pumped! I just finished up the Loretta’s Amateur National with two overall podium finishes. The team and I have been working incredibly hard this past year and I’m excited to see what we can do!”
In accordance with COVID-19 regulations, the abbreviated 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will take place over nine rounds, which include a first-ever doubleheader at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, Michigan. The series begins this Saturday, August 15th at Loretta Lynn’s MX in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee and will wind through eight states before the season wraps up at Fox Raceway in Pala, California on October 10th.
REVISED AMA MX SCHEDULE:
1) August 15: Loretta Lynn’s National – Hurricane Mills, TN
2) August 22: Washougal National – Washougal, WA
3) August 29: Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN
4) September 4: RedBud National 1 – Buchanan, MI
5) September 7: RedBud National 2 – Buchanan, MI
6) September 19: Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
7) September 26: WW Ranch National – Jacksonville, FL
8) October 3: Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
9) October 10: Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
