Zemke to Jordan Suzuki

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

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Following nine years on Hondas, Jake Zemke will make the switch to Jordan Suzuki according to our sources.

It appears fan favorite Jake Zemke will have a ride for 2010 after all. And a good one at that. With who? Jordan Suzuki.

You heard it here first! Reputable sources tell us that Aaron Yates has re-signed to ride the No. 23 machine while his teammate on the No. 54 Jordan Motorsports bike will be Zemke, with previous rider Geoff May no longer on the team. This comes as somewhat of a surprise considering the relationship the team has had with May. Regardless, they are getting a talented and always popular rider in Zemke.

The 2008 Formula Xtreme Champion has a host of AMA Pro Racing wins to his name, though most on a 600cc machine, including five in FX and one in Supersport during his championship season. He does have three Superbike wins to his credit, two coming for Erion Honda at Brainerd International Raceway and Mid-Ohio, while the other was for the factory Honda squad at Miller Motorsports Park aboard the previous generation CBR1000RR in the midst of the Mladin-Spies era, proving to be one of the only riders to break their dominate win streak. This is important as out source tells us Zemke will be riding in American Superbike on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. Also of note, Zemke has a Daytona 200 win to his name, coming in ’06 for the Erion team.

The Paso Robles, California native makes the switch to Suzuki after nine years aboard Hondas, something that could prove to be challenging for the versatile rider. Though with a team as solid as the Gemini-run Jordan group behind him, one would think the 34-year-old veteran will quickly be on pace.

No word yet if National Guard has re-upped as the title sponsor of the team or if Zemke will run under Jordan colors. Either way, it's good to see a few more deserving names getting riders for next season. We will keep up updated as more info becomes available...

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Comments

bob -dmg January 2, 2010 01:52 AM
dmg let the fans down not honda...yea they reduced the support and so would you if the series barely got on tv...with about 5 fans watching as dmg ran it into the ground.As for buell being aloud to enter a 1200 cc in a 600cc racer series..im surprised the others didnt drop out because dmg were clearly favouring them!

MotoGP -AMA Stars December 31, 2009 06:28 AM
I'm glad Jake got a ride. I think the Jordan Team was smart and they can use him for advertising too. He's well liked.

Superbikemike -Jake(really my name is Jake).....got it it totally right imo December 31, 2009 06:03 AM
now we have to right the wrongs from past dmg decisions....
we just gotta believe.....

Jake (really my name is Jake) -easy decisions December 31, 2009 03:35 AM
@chip. I don't understand how you feel Honda "let the fans down" Stating the obvious with the economy the way it, these companies have more important things to focus on then racing. obviously I enjoy racing but when it comes to people losing jobs or a company spending money on entertainment, I think that's a pretty easy decision for a smart company to make. And the whole racing for R&D is BS because R&D can be done in private without racing.

But economics aside given the crap DMG has pulled can you blame and of the Japanese companies for not supporting the AMA whatever you want to call it race series? It's been an absolute joke and embarassment. The Japanese factories have support the series for ages only to be slapped in the face by DMG favoring Buell. Again for a smart company the decision to not support the series is a no brainer. If people are as uneducated as the press and DMG think, they only see the Buells beating the Japanese bikes and not the stupid rules that have 1200cc bikes (that also race in the 1000cc superbike class) racing 600cc bikes. If the point of racing is for marketing then that's a bad investment for the Japanese under these circumstances

irksome -DMG December 30, 2009 04:51 PM
Can't wait to watch nationally-televised club racing, brought to you by the AMA. I know, racing is racing but I imagine the fields will be greatly reduced as will the purses. WSB, here I come.

chip -zemke December 30, 2009 02:46 PM
Honda didnt put much money in the series last year and i think they let there fans down. If zemke goes with jordan that would be great he is a super nice guy and he deserve it. Its time for him to shine and im looking forward to seeing him on suzuki!! I cant wait for the season to start. I might just go out and buy me a suzuki 1000cc put my 600 honda out to pasture its seen better days.

bikerrandy -Zemke's gonna race a Suzuki ! December 30, 2009 12:39 PM
Hmmmm.........this could get interesting. Jake could have won a lot more races if his bike's hadn't let him down. Wondered if and where he might find a ride. But I feel sorry for May.