Review by Randy Smith #24 -  
As the title states, this DVD is about GP Racing Suzuki’s in the years 1970, 71, 72, 73. When you see “GP” count on it all being over sea’s on massive outdoor natural terrain tracks. You won’t see many American’s in the film, in fact I only saw one twice but that’s OK. Now if you are a Roger Decoster or Joel Robert fan, this is your DVD to watch.
Like most of these propaganda films produced by a manufacture like Yamaha or Suzuki you are going to get their version of how great their bikes were. Well after watching this one, I can tell you that Suzuki stomped some serious butt back then. You have to think how crushing this must have been for all of the Europeans, after all, Suzuki was racing in their countries but the Europeans were getting beat by Jap Bike’s. Some of the things I noticed going back to the early 70’s is how “natural” the natural terrain the tracks really were. Some looked more like wooded hare scrambles tracks and almost all were of single track wear. It almost looked like some guys going fast at a public riding area or on private land. Oh how the tracks have changed since then.
I liked this DVD better than the other “GP” based films I have watched lately. Several things attribute to this. Mainly it was the way this film gave you more than shots of the winning bike out front. Suzuki gave you a good look at the competition so you get to see some of those early 70’s Works Bikes. I have to admit those orange tanked CZ’s started growing on me. Being this is really early in Motocross history, you see guys wearing half moon helmets and goofy looking eye protection or none at all. You get to see several pit shots of the crowds and the factory race teams race vans which are smallish by today’s standards. What I also liked about this film was there was a segment on how to ride MX , showing the pro’s body positions on jumping and such. There was also a segment about kids racing and I flashed back to those years when I would have been the same age as those schoolboys in the film. Oh, those were the days. And don’t forget to watch several segments on Side Car MX. Very cool. There was even top secret footage of Suzuki’s test track and mechanics tearing down the engines after two 40 minute motos of wear and tear.
I guess the best thing I can say about this film is it was a nice mix of all things MX in the early 70’s. Sure Suzuki toots their own horn but heck, they were the manufactures most winning team during those years. The film quality is good for recopied super 8 film to DVD and the sound isn’t as annoying as some of the other films I watched. I think if you are someone who grew up during these years with Dirt Bikes on the brain and or a Suzuki, Roger Decoster or Joel Robert fan you better buy this DVD. You will enjoy it I am sure.
I rate this film at 4-1/2 Spark Plugs
Randy Smith #24
Review by Mark “Hollywood” Jarecki 45Q -
Suzuki G.P. features the years 1970, ’71- ’72 and ’73. Included is more G.P. racing than you can shake a stick at. Not being a huge Suzuki fan, I like this video. Production is by Suzuki LTD Co. The narration and video is rough at first but becomes smooth and race video is more consistent than its Yamaha G.P. counterpart. It moves smoothly from one GP to the next. There are 4 segments in this DVD. Suzuki G.P. begins featuring Joel Robert, Olle Patterson and Roger DeCoster. Later a few other names appear including Jim Pomeroy. The venues are Finland, Spain, Sweden, and East Germany to name a few. Good stuff. One cool thing is the towns and cities featured on the G.P. circuit and old vehicles of the day. Again, huge turnouts, marching bands and parades are the norm. This video does a good job showing you a little bit of everything, from architecture in Vienna to the Japanese mechanics wrenching in the pits. Did I mention lots of racing? This is a long video, about 2 hours, which is great. It’s neat to see all the European venues of the day. Not anything to complain about here. I give Suzuki G.P. 3.5 spark plugs.
Hollywood 45Q
***
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