Suzuki lose SoBe backing.

American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC) has announced that former Supercross and Motorcross sponsor SoBe Beverages will not be backing Suzuki for the 2004 season.

"We enjoyed a fruitful two-year partnership with SoBe," said ASMC vice president Mel Harris. "While it is unfortunate we won't be able to implement marketing and promotional programs with them in the future, we understand their budgetary situation and respect their decision."

"We've shared a tremendous relationship with Suzuki over the past two years," added SoBe director of marketing Mike Joyce. "Suzuki has been a truly great marketing partner, and we are huge fans of the brand and the team riders. The decision to not renew the SoBe Suzuki team sponsorship was a difficult one, but as a company, we have been faced with shifting marketing priorities and a finite marketing budget.

"We hope the riders, the fans and our friends in the industry know that this decision is certainly not a reflection of our commitment to motocross, but rather a shift in SoBe's marketing support."

SoBe supported the factory Suzuki effort for the 2002 and 2003 AMA seasons. For 2004, they will race under the Team Suzuki banner.