Safety First Suzuki's Fong, Rizmayer To Focus On AMA Supersport Class In 2008

Safety First Suzuki is proud to announce our 2008 AMA racing program. Team Owner, Kevin Hanson, explained what’s in store for 2008. “It’s been a busy last couple of months. Our Suzuki program has been set in place for some time with 17 year old young gun, Bobby Fong, returning. However, I really wanted to take my time and see who was available for the second rider slot.

My rider coach, Owen Weichel, approached me about a Hungarian rider, Gabor Rizmayer, through a longstanding contact with a friend in Europe. The holdup was Gabor is a Suzuki supported rider in Europe and there were some AMA rounds that conflicted with his European race schedule. Thankfully, we were able to secure Gabor for (7) AMA rounds this season starting with Daytona. The great thing is he brings a ton of race experience as well as 125 & 250 GP experience so I’m really excited about the opportunity of having him on the team,” commented Hanson. Both riders will be focusing solely on Supersport except for the Daytona 200. This will allow us to focus all of our efforts on producing great results in the ultra-competitive Supersport class,” advised Hanson.

Safety First Suzuki has also added some new sponsors and key personnel to the team for 2008. Dave Moss, owner of Catalyst Suspension Tuning will serve as crewchief for the team and suspension tuner for Bobby Fong. Dave is a well respected tuner via his trackday tuning business and his two suspension DVD’s, “Introduction to Sportbike Suspension” and “Twiddling Knobs.” “I’m excited about bringing 10 years of tuning, communication and organizational skills to the team for this great opportunity Kevin has presented me with,” commented Moss.

Additionally, Traxxion Dynamics has come on board as a sponsor, along with Traxxion tuner Don Finnelli to serve as lead mechanic and suspension tuner for Gabor Rizmayer. “I’m really excited about using the Traxxion Gas Cartridges this year. I feel this will give us a competitive advantage by allowing the riders to take advantage of using a full-blown superbike style fork product that is legal in Supersport,” exclaimed Hanson. Richard Cherney who has been a long time supporter of Bobby Fong since he started dirttrack racing as a child will serve as Bobby’s lead mechanic.

Penske is also stepping up their support for 2008. Shane Schweighart from Penske will be operating out of the team transporter during the year servicing Penske products for riders as well as supporting the team with Penske 8770 shocks that provide another level of performance over the standard Penske triple clicker shock.

Michelin will also be returning as a big supporter of Safety First Suzuki this year. “We recently returned from testing the new suspension components and Michelin tires at Jennings in January with really good results. We tested new Michelin fronts and rears that are a big leap forward from last year. I think the Michelin riders in the U.S. this year are really going to impressed with the product for 2008, commented Hanson.

See you at Daytona…..

Safety First Suzuki was formed in 2004 by police officer/racer, Kevin Hanson, based out of Chicago, IL. For 2008, Safety First Suzuki will be competing in the AMA Superbike series in the Supersport class. For further information, please checkout www.SAFETYFIRSTRACING.com to see the Safety First Suzuki line of apparel, casual wear and performance products. Kevin Hanson continues to educate elementary school aged children nationwide about the importance of helmet usage.