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MJ and Superbikes? The Jordan Suzuki Team Hits the Tracks
We all know Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan has a passion for basketball, baseball and a thing for golf, but do you know what his latest passion is? Motorcycles — fast motorcycles. Sportbikes, crouch-rockets, two-wheeled speed traps -- Superbikes. He has such a passion for the sport he created Michael Jordan Motorsports in 2004 to compete in the highly competitive American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Superbike circuit. His goal is to bring a new level of awareness, visibility, and excellence to this exciting fast-paced sport.
For his original bike(s), he went back to his North Carolina Blue color scheme. However, for the 2005 season and to coincide with the launch of his latest Jordans his current bike sports a paint scheme quite similar to his shoe.
Although MJ already had a talented rider in Montez Stewart, to give his team more credibility and bump up the stakes, he partnered with Suzuki and signed veteran racer and AMA 750 Supersport, AMA Formula Extreme and FIM World Endurance champion rider Jason Pridmore.
Pridmore finished a respectable 7 th place at the Daytona 200 in March. Not bad considering his team only had the Suzuki GSX-R1000 for only a few weeks. With the help of Ammar Bazzaz of Bazzaz Performance Design as crew chief, this team can only get better!
 
 
If you’re thinking this is just a passing fancy for MJ, think again. The primary sponsorship for the Michael Jordan Motorsports Team comes from the Jordan Brand. Other major sponsors include Suzuki Motor Company, Gatorade, Dunlop Tires, and Yoshimura R&D. Yes, this is a passion for MJ, but this is also a business -- one in which he intends on adding his finesse, style and success.
Still want to be like Mike, but don’t have any riding experience? Then I definitely suggest taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (http://www.msf-usa.org/) riding course before straddling a bike capable of launching from 0 – 100 in less time than it takes to say Motorcycle Safety Foundation Riding Course. Here you will learn the basic skills of riding from professional riders -- not your friend’s cousin’s brother that used to have a dirt bike and ride mopeds in the ‘hood back in the day.
This season is certainly one to pay attention to as there are riders just a tad jealous of the attention Jordan is already bringing to this sport and the resources he is providing to his team. Hey, the man likes to win and if you got it, why not use it?
The Jordan Suzuki team returns to action at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on April 22-24. For a detailed schedule of events for the 2005 AMA Superbike Series visit www.amasuperbike.com.
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