BX13001
Detail Up Part
In September 1993, a new champion was born at the final round of the FIM Grand Prix (FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix) held in Jarama Circuit, Spain. It was Kevin Schwantz, an American rider from Texas. That year, he rode the Suzuki works machine, the RGV-Г, with the vehicle development code XR79. In 1986, Schwantz was approached by Barry Sheene to test a 500cc Grand Prix machine. His performance during this test caught attention, leading to his debut in the Road Racing World Championship with the Heron Suzuki team at the Dutch Grand Prix, Dutch T.T., held in June of the same year. He participated in two more races that year. The following year, in 1987, Schwantz participated in three races in the World Championship while focusing on racing in the United States and received high praise for his skills. Then came 1988.
Schwantz began full participation in the World Championship. He joined the Suzuki Works team, which he had participated in the previous year, in 1987.
Suzuki, which participated in the race as a works team since 1983, welcomed Schwantz as a works rider after assessing his performance in the previous year.
The opening round of the season was the Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka Circuit in March. Schwantz won the race after a fierce battle with the previous year’s champion, Wayne Gardner.
With this victory and his performance in the first race of his full participation, Schwantz quickly gained global recognition as a top rider.
The 1993 machine prepared by Suzuki, which had undergone extensive development and refinement alongside Schwantz, was the RGV-, with the vehicle development code XR79. The engine was a 2-stroke water-cooled V-4 cylinder with a 70-degree included angle, boasting a displacement of 499.5 cc. It featured the Suzuki’s original 6×2 reed valve for intake air and a multiple jet nozzle carburetor developed by Yoshimura, reportedly generating nearly 180 horsepower. The frame that housed the engine was an aluminum twin-spar frame known for its high rigidity. With components like 16.5-inch wheels, every aspect of the machine was finely tuned and matured. The year 1993, when Schwantz’s exceptional riding skills combined to bring him the rider’s title, was the moment when the development that Suzuki had continued together since returning to Grand Prix activities in 1987 and Schwantz’s full participation in the race in 1988, finally bore fruit.