In a year that began with high competitiveness, the home of Hamamatsu threw everything up in the air by unexpectedly announcing yet another departure from the World Motor Speed Championship. And this time, without giving the slightest indication that it intends one day to return
When MotoGP is back in action on August 5th for the first day of free practice for the British GP, Suzuki will begin the countdown to saying goodbye to the World Championship. From the time of the landing at Silverstone, there will be only 94 days left for the Hamamatsu brand to put a melancholy end to a story that had everything to be beautiful.
It is always worth mentioning that Suzuki's history in the championship is made of comings and goings. The last of these came at the end of 2011, when it left in the wake of the economic crisis that ravaged the world with the promise of returning years later, which effectively materialized in 2015. Since then, the Japanese factory has built a solid and protagonist GSX-RR, always with good riders, and ended a long jejunum by winning with Joan Mir the 2020 title.
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With everything going well, the Japanese outfit signed with World Championship promoter Dorna to remain in the championship until 2026, but on April 2 it took everyone by surprise when it announced it would leave MotoGP at the end of 2022. The decision was sudden and happened in the middle of negotiations to renew the contracts of Mir and Álex Rins for another two years. Both had decided to stay with the team.
Because of the existing contract with the Spanish promoter, things were not so simple. Dorna stepped in and warned that the decision could not be unilateral, which led to a long negotiation, concluded only earlier this week, when Suzuki announced an agreement to end World Championship participation in 2022. In addition to leaving MotoGP, the Japanese are also leaving the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) Endurance World Championship.
Unlike what happened before, Suzuki is now not even talking about a return. The Japanese are on their way out and have made no promise of ever looking at MotoGP again. But you know what else is different? The way they are leaving.
Alvaro Bautista, who was the Suzuki rider when the brand ended its participation in the World Championship in 2011, admitted that he was surprised, but assessed that it was positive that at least the riders were communicated in advance. At that time, the Spaniard only got the professional relocation after the death of Marco Simoncelli, which eventually opened a vacancy at Gresini.
"Fortunately, they communicated the riders who were leaving, because they told me only at the end of the season, so I didn't have time to react to find another place," Alvaro commented in an interview with the British website Crash.net. "So it's a mix, I'm surprised, but at the same time, they have done this in the past," he followed.
This time, however, Mir and Rins had time to react. Álex has already handed in that he will join LCR Honda in place of Álex Márquez who has signed with Gresini Ducati, while Joan is the most highly tipped to take Pol Espargaró's place in the official Honda team. Neither official announcement, however, has been made.
For the mechanics and other staff, the relocation is a bit more complicated. Rins, for example, has already stated that LCR has not allowed him to take anyone to the team. Livio Suppo, Suzuki boss, has promised to help current employees in their search for new jobs, but if no team appears to fill the vacant space, it is certain that the number of jobs in the MotoGP paddock will reduce.
In a year when the GSX-RR had taken a step forward in terms of performance, Suzuki threw its own competitiveness up in the air with the exit announcement - as the performance of Rins and Mir was instantly shaken - and is heading to end this run in a sad way.
Mir's title will always be a beautiful memory. The coronation of a job well done, masterfully executed under the baton of Davide Brivio, even if with a reduced budget, especially in comparison with the competition. But the manner in which he leaves the championship shows how little - or almost no - value Suzuki places on MotoGP. After all, if the championship can be discarded so easily, it must not be worth that much to the house of Hamamatsu, right?!
This most recent chapter in Suzuki's MotoGP history deserved a more beautiful ending, more worthy of a script of five wins, one pole and 36 podiums so far.
MotoGP is now on vacation and will resume on August 7 with the British GP at Silverstone.GRANDE PRÊMIO is following all the activities of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.