"Motorsport is not a matter
of
life or death . . . . . . . .
it's far more
important
than that"!

Welcome to Formula Suzuki, New
Zealand's affordable wings and slicks series.
The objective of the series is to provide drivers with
the opportunity to compete in a professional motorsport environment,
one that is run on an equal basis, without the burden of the high costs
normally associated with an F3, TRS, or Formula Ford.
With a concept designed to provide close racing between drivers, it is
based on in-car performance everything else is equal. This is a
single-make chassis formula, offering power of well over 400hp per ton
from a sealed engine package. It is the drivers skill that makes the
difference here - not the size of your bank account.
This high-performance car has been designed and developed by 'Monster'
Tajima of Suzuki Motorsport and powered by the worlds fastest
production motorcycle engine, the Suzuki Hayabusa, being the fastest it
needs no performance enhancing modifications to compete with top
formulas like Formula BMW, Renault etc.
Formula Suzuki is a tightly controlled class, promoted by GP Motorsport
Ltd, with support from Suzuki New Zealand and other National sponsors.
Formula Suzuki's
'Monster' pedigree.
The flagship of Suzuki's motorcycle
line, the GSX1300R Hayabusa, is a streamlined, 175 horsepower, 305-kph
missile, the Formula Suzuki, is it's 4 wheel counterpart and a
formidable single seater in it's own right. The redline is set at a
giddy 11,000 rpm with a 6-speed sequential transmission.
Making a screaming 135-horsepower
per litre, the Formula Suzuki engine blows automotive benchmarks like
the Honda S2000 (120-horsepower-per-litre) out of the water.
The brainchild of Nobuhiro
'Monster' Tajima, founder of Suzuki Sport in Japan, the Formula Suzuki
races in its own spec series in both Japan and New Zealand and since
all the cars are equal, the racing is spectacularly close.
The chassis is a purpose built, mid
engined, space frame design, carrying the GSXR1300 longitudinally.
At about 425 Kg, the car weighs
about twice as much as the Hayabusa motorcycle, but with four Kumho F3
slicks and plenty of down force from it's revamped carbon fibre wings,
it can corner much faster. Geared for NZ to top out at just over 250
Kph when approaching redline in sixth, acceleration is exhilarating.
A key element of the Formula Suzuki
series is affordability, with the Formula Suzuki being about half the
cost of even a formula Ford, or about a third of it's slower rivals the
Formula BMW and Formula Renault, so it's a definite bargain among race
cars, and even though the car looks like a Formula 3, it borrows freely
from Suzuki's car and motorcycle parts bins to keep costs under control.
With 15 cars already sold here and
more new cars on the way, GP Motorsport are ensuring that the Formula
Suzuki is here to stay in NZ as it commences it's second year in the
IRC
series.