Industry News

As one of Japan’s leading composite specialists and a 20-year collaborator of Suzuki’s motorsport teams, Tras was able to leverage Bcomp’s revolutionary technologies in an exciting new application. Originally, Tras used Bcomp technologies to develop prototype bodywork for the Suzuki ECSTAR MotoGP team, increasing awareness of modern natural fibre composites. This technical demonstration initiated a new collaboration, with Tras and Bcomp producing race-ready components for Team Suzuki CN Challenge as it entered the Experimental class of the 2024 and 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) Suzuka 8 Hours.

Both ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ harness the natural characteristics of flax fibres to produce parts with excellent stiffness and damping properties, while also being lightweight. Critically, they offer up to 85% CO2 emission reduction from ‘cradle to gate’ and viable end-of-life solutions when compared to carbon fibre.­ Proven across the highest levels of motorsport and in ‘volume’ automotive applications, Bcomp technologies offer a more sustainable performance composite solution to race teams and OEMs alike.

The ‘CN’ in Team Suzuki CN Challenge is an acronym for Carbon Neutral. The team’s continued progression towards natural fibre composites aligns closely with its sustainability mission, which also includes many other areas of the motorcycle’s design. At the 2025 Suzuka 8 Hours, the team will race with 100 per cent sustainable fuel, racing tyres with recycled material, bio-sourced engine oil, and an eco-friendly titanium muffler.

Shinichi Sahara, Head of Suzuki Motorsports, commented: “The 2025 Team Suzuki CN Challenge GSX-R1000R is an incredible machine that sets ambitions goals to simultaneously minimise environmental impact and drive greater performance. Embracing the natural colour of ampliTex in our bodywork and winglets has great visual impact – you can see a sustainable material in action. We hope to expand our use of Bcomp and increase awareness of these technologies across the motorsport and motorcycle industries. We look forward to our future work with Tras and Bcomp, working together to achieve new goals in sustainable motorsport.”

Masanao Nitta, Representative Director at Tras, commented: “These innovative natural fibre parts were made possible thanks to Bcomp’s material technologies. The new ampliTex™ prepreg even withstood the hot and humid manufacturing environments typical of Southeast Asia. With this improvement, we were able to further enhance the performance and aesthetic of the ampliTex™ parts. This year, there are both more parts and larger parts on the Suzuki CN Challenge GSX-R1000R that have been made from ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ – a major step forward that opens wider possibilities. We look forward to seeing these parts raced at Suzuka, proving their capability at the highest level.”

Ken Kruck, Sales Representative Motorsport at Bcomp, added: “Competing at Suzuka 8 Hours with natural fibre composite bodywork is the ultimate proof point. It’s a conclusive demonstration that the performance demands of top-tier motorsport can be met by modern sustainable material technologies – performance and sustainability are no longer mutually exclusive. We look forward to our continued work with Tras and Team Suzuki CN Challenge.”

Cover photo: Bcomp, Suzuki, Tras