Motorcycle USA’s Executive Editor Will Race Laguna Seca Round of AMA Superbike Motorcycle-USA.com’s Executive Editor takes on the Laguna Seca round of AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike this coming weekend with its Stage 3 Project Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Sportbike tuning experts Yoshimura have purpose-built the GSX-R1000 to compete in the American SuperBike class with Motorcycle-USA Executive Editor Steve Atlas at the helm. The project’s aim is to test the rules structure recently set in place with the Daytona Motorsports Group’s takeover of AMA Pro Racing and see how competitive a true privateer on a well-built bike can be. The Yoshimura GSX-R1000 has already been club racing at California’s Willow Springs Raceway. After the initial basic build, once in race trim Motorcycle-USA nearly won right out of the box during Stage 2 of the project. Finishing less than a tenth-of-a-second back of AMA regular David Anthony, the bike’s first race meeting produced a second-place result, along with a host of extremely competitive lap times. Now Motorcycle-USA reaches the climax of its Yoshimura project build, campaigning it in the AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike final at Laguna Seca this coming weekend! Motorcycle-USA’s Atlas will race the 180-hp machine in his first professional American SuperBike race, though a wealth of experience in support classes the previous eight years have helped prepare him for the challenge ahead. Atlas’ best finishes include several top-15s in AMA 750cc Superstock and AMA Supersport, as well as a ninth-place finish in the 2008 Daytona 200. A full-time moto-journalist now, Steve still enjoys racing for ‘editorial projects’ whenever possible. “I’m very excited to get out there and see how our Project Yoshimura GSX-R1000 can stack up against the big boys at Laguna Seca,” says Atlas. “This has been a major ongoing project here at Motorcycle-USA and while we did well club racing, this is the real deal, with the world watching. So we figured no better place or time to try our hand and put this well-built, but still very privateer machine to the test. With the new American SuperBike rules we should be far more competitive. Plus we are putting an actual full-time editor in the rider’s seat. We didn’t hire some rider like another publication whose name I won’t say. Now it’s just time for me to step up and get a good result. Somewhere in the top-10 would be nice!” Motorcycle-USA & Yoshimura have been working together on this project for several months and continue to be involved in racing, research and development. For the full story read Motorcycle-USA.com’s Modified Superbike Comparison <~http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/9/6290/Motorcycle-Article/Modified-Superbike-Comparison.aspx~> or check out the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Stage 2 update <~http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/561/6668/Motorcycle-Article/Yoshimura-Suzuki-GSX-R1000-Stage-2.aspx>~. About Motorcycle-USA.com Motorcycle-USA.com is the most advanced and diverse motorcycle content site on the Web. For more than a decade, Motorcycle-USA.com has provided breaking industry news, comprehensive motorcycle tests, gear reviews as well as race coverage for both street and dirt. Providing the 1 million monthly readers with more photographs, motorcycle specifications, rider impressions and online videos than any Internet publication. www.Motorcycle-USA.com bringing you the latest, first – Climb On. About Yoshimura R&D of America Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view the wide variety of performance products, visit ~http://www.yoshimura-rd.com~