DAVIS (West Virginia) - The 2008 season will bring with it a considerable boost to the national mountain biking scene when Suzuki Automotive steps into the title sponsor’s slot of the Suzuki 24 Hour National Point Series, contested in a six-race circuit with premium quality events in California, Georgia, West Virginia, Vermont, Missouri, and Utah.
Granny Gear Productions pioneered 24-hour mountain bike racing in 1992. In 2006, leveraging it’s extensive production experience, sterling reputation and growing demand, the company created a national point series. Going into the third year of this series, now with a title sponsor to support the effort, the president of Granny Gear, Laird Knight, is quietly optimistic that the coming season will be a milestone in the sport’s history.
“I think it is important for the whole sport of mountain biking that a title sponsor has come on board. But this is not just a vote for mountain biking, Suzuki Automotive sees where the 24 Hour Series is going and wants to be part of creating something great,” said Laird.
Suzuki Automotive sees the partnership as a perfect fit.
“Mountain bikers are people who live life to the fullest and don’t just watch it go by,” said Gene Brown, vice president of marketing and public relations, American Suzuki. “Suzuki Automotive’s sponsorship of the 24 Hour Series was a natural match.”
So what does the sponsorship bring to the series, what does this mean to the average rider? Laird explains: “Most importantly, it means the on-going success of the series. We simply could not do it all without the support of great sponsors. But it also means we can pull out the stops a little more. We’ve been focusing on producing great events but we haven’t had the resources to tell the myriad stories that unfold and make the events special. We’re really going to focus on getting these stories told: on the web, in local newspapers and, of course, in MTB magazines. Our RealTime Scoring™, and StoryBoard™ on-line scoring systems have always provided the hard facts, faster and more accurately than anything else out there. Now we can add a lot of qualitative information, written by journalists, and quality photography by the best pros in the business.”
Benefits from the Suzuki Automotive sponsorship will extend beyond storytelling and PR. Laird, again: “We also want to take care of people better and provide a little more social time by catering an awards banquet, free to racers, at the end of each event. Community is such an important part of this sport and there’s nothing more enjoyable than sitting down and sharing a meal with a couple of hundred of your best friends after a long, hard ride. So, wherever logistics permit, we will host an awards banquet as part of the awards ceremony.”
April 26th and 27th 24 Hours of Vail Lake Temecula, California
May 17th and 18th 24 Hours of Conyers Conyers, Georgia
June 7th and 8th 24 Hours of Big Bear Hazelton, West Virginia
July 26th and 27th 24 Hours of Killington Killington, Vermont
Sept. 20th and 21st 24 Hours of Landahl Landahl Park, Missouri
October 11th and 12th 24 Hours of Moab (Series Finale) Moab, Utah
With high quality events so close to home for so many mountain bikers in the USA, the Suzuki 24 Hour National Point Series presents an outstanding opportunity to find out for the first time about the fun and community of round-the-clock team racing. While true devotees will have a crack at the series, Granny Gear Productions expects most of the riders to enter the event closest to home and maybe take a road trip to another event later in the year. The Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab, of course, remains the ultimate 24-hour race experience for mountain bikers not only from the USA, but all over the world.
About Suzuki Automotive
Beyond Suzuki’s spirited four-door SX4 Sport, bold and functional five-door SX4 Crossover, exciting XL7 midsize SUV and rugged Grand Vitara compact SUV, the company’s 2008 vehicle line includes the popular Forenza sedan and Forenza Wagon, and the European-styled Reno. Every vehicle in the line provides Suzuki’s standout virtues of toughness, leading-edge style and high-end features at very competitive prices. All 2008 Suzuki automobiles are backed by America’s #1 Warranty: a 100,000-mile/seven-year, fully transferable, zero-deductible powertrain limited warranty.
The Brea, California, based Automotive Operations of American Suzuki Motor Corporation was founded in 1985 by parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and currently markets its vehicles in the United States through a network of more than 500 automotive dealerships in 49 states. Based in Hamamatsu, Japan, SMC is a diversified worldwide automobile, motorcycle and outboard motor manufacturer with sales of more than two million new automobiles annually. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has operations in 187 countries. For more information, visit www.media.suzukiauto.com
About Granny Gear Productions
Granny Gear Productions, a sports marketing and event production company, has earned a reputation as mountain biking’s most innovative and successful event organizer. With more than 26 years as a mountain bike race promoter, Granny Gear President and CEO, Laird Knight, created the 24-hour racing format in 1991. In 2001, Knight became West Virginia Tourism’s Person-of-the-Year and in 2002, Knight was inducted into The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.
In 2000, GGP created its unprecedented and unrivaled RealTime™ Scoring System, that tracks every rider and every lap, posting results for every team in real-time on the web. www.grannygear.com
Top photo: Lemans-style Start - ©Dan Campbell
Bottom photo: Night racers - ©Xavi Fane
source: Granny Gear Press Office
December 24th, 2007 by 
Francois
