Peris joins Suzuki Canada line-up

From Team Suzuki Blackfoot Picotte Racing

CALGARY, AB -- Suzuki Canada and Blackfoot Picotte Racing have announced the addition of Chris Peris to the team for the 2008 season.

The 21-year-old Calgary native, who is replacing a recuperating Pascal Picotte, will join two-time Superbike Champion Francis Martin and up-and-comer Matt McBride to contest the Parts Canada Superbike and Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike Championships.

“We’re quite excited to have a young gun like Chris join our team. Chris has never really had a chance to contest a full championship series and giving him the ride on Team Suzuki will allow him to really show his stuff this year,” said Suzuki Canada’s Nathan Naslund. “I think all in all we have a perfect mix teaming Chris and Matt with veterans like Francis and Pascal.

"We’re sorry to see that Pascal won’t be able to ride, but using his experience for setup, and mentoring both Chris and Matt, will give the team a very good chemistry.”

Calgary-based Blackfoot Racing’s Pat Chambers echoed Naslund’s sentiments saying the signing of Peris infuses the team with the kind of synergy it needs to win a national championship.

“I’m really happy to be joining Team Suzuki Blackfoot Picotte Racing for the upcoming championship season. It’s kind of nice to be racing for a hometown team. I’ve always worked with teams that are so far away,” said Peris. “It should be interesting working with the team and especially Pascal, who I’ve always looked up to. I know I’ll have nothing but the best equipment at my disposal which is a real confidence builder going into a season.”

Peris recently won the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) Pro Series Superstock final at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach. Last year, he raced the first half of the World Supersport series in Europe and the remainder of the season in the U.S. Peris has also raced in New Zealand and Australia.

Although Picotte will be on the sidelines this season in order to properly recover from the cumulative effect of injuries sustained since 2005, he will continue to function as team manager. According to Picotte, who signed a two-year riding/management contract with Suzuki Blackfoot in 2007, not actually racing will put him in a position to do a much better job running the team.

“It was a hard decision to not race but my doctor said I needed to take at least a year off. Actually, I think it’s going to be very good for the team and for Suzuki. Because I don’t have to worry about racing myself, I will be better able to help Chris and Matt perform at a higher level. Not just the technical aspect, but the mental aspect as well,” said Picotte.