Alstare Suzuki officially leave WSB

Alstare Suzuki has released a statement officially confirming its departure from the World Superbike series in 2004.

Alstare based its decision on a statement by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association (MSMA) which said all members would abstain from running factory teams in the 2004 championship, except for Ducati. Manufacturers which belong to the association include Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Aprilia. They will also not provide any technical assistance on a factory basis.

The Alstare statement added: ” This is due to the organisers not adopting a set of fair technical rules that had been agreed by all MSMA members, and also the organiser restricting tyres to a single make. ”

However the team will compete in the 2004 World Supersport Championship. No riders have been announced, but they will be using the new Suzuki GSX-R600. The supersport championship will also be running the one-manufacturer tyre rules in 2004.

Comment on this story on the WSB discussion board by following the link on the right.