Suzuki announced on Wednesday morning (13) that it has reached an agreement with Dorna to leave the World Motorcycle Championship
Suzuki has done it. On Wednesday morning (13), the company announced via official statement that it has reached an agreement with Dorna, the commercial rights holder of MotoGP, to fulfill the desire to leave the category at the end of the 2022 season. In addition to leaving the World Motorcycle Championship, Suzuki is also leaving the World Endurance Championship.
Suzuki's intention to leave MotoGP was first reported in early May and caused a stir, as the factory had renewed its contract with Dorna last year to remain until the end of the 2026 season. The decision was taken by Suzuki's headquarters in Japan and had nothing to do with the sports arm. In fact, Suzuki's MotoGP boss Livio Suppo was also hired in 2021, after Davide Brivio's departure to Formula 1.
Soon, Dorna came forward. Because of the agreement until 2026, it was harsh and stated that "the conditions of the contract with MotoGP do not allow them to make this decision unilaterally. Therefore, it was necessary for both parties to go to the meeting room to reach a common denominator. Now, more than two months later, such a denominator has been reached - and not disclosed, at least for the time being.
"Suzuki has decided to end participation in MotoGP and RWC because of the need to reallocate resources to other initiatives for sustainability. Motorcycle racing has always been a challenging place for technical innovation, including sustainability and human resource development," said Suzuki President Toshihiro Suzuki.
"This decision means that we will start a new operation in the motorcycle business by redirecting the skills and human resources we have cultivated in our sports activities to investigate other routes on the way to a sustainable society," he said.
"I would like to express my greatest of gratitude with all the fans, riders and shareholders who have walked with us and supported us enthusiastically from the development stage since we returned to MotoGP," he spoke.
"I will continue to do my best to support Álex Rins, Joan Mir, the Suzuki Ecstar team and Yoshimura Sert Motul so that they will continue to compete strongly until the end of the year," he concluded.
Suzuki won its first MotoGP title in two decades when Joan Mir won the 2020 championship. As of this moment, both Mir and Álex Rins, two of the most talented riders in the World Championship, are looking for a new home. Although there is no officialization yet, Mir is nearing a deal with factory Honda, while Rins is in talks with LCR.
Untimely exits, by the way, seem to be a habit at Suzuki. In 2011, due to the impacts of the economic crisis at the time, the Japanese announced the end of their first stint in MotoGP after even hiring riders for the following year. This time, the scenario is different.
MotoGP is on its European summer break and will return on the weekend of August 7 at Silverstone, with the British GP. In the current championship Suzuki still hasn't won and is ahead only of Honda among the constructors.