As the paddock packed up after the Jerez test on Monday, held after the Spanish GP at the circuit, the bombshell news emerged that Suzuki is to withdraw from MotoGP at the end of the current season.
Motorsport.com‘s Oriol Puigdemont was the first to break the news, which I have since had confirmed by multiple sources in the MotoGP paddock.
The team was told on Monday morning, before the test, with an official announcement expected on Tuesday.
The Yamaha YZR-M1 and the Suzuki GSX-RR have a lot in common. Both are inline four cylinder machines, and both rely more on corner speed and maneuverability than outright speed. And the riders of both machines have complained about a lack of speed at great length.
So great was Joan Mir’s frustration with the Suzuki’s lack of power in 2021 that he made a veiled threat to seek solace elsewhere. “A lot of people finish their contracts in 2022 and we are hoping to renew, or to take a different decision,” the 2020 world champion said before the test at Sepang.
“Honestly, the test will be important for me. It will be important to understand everything. As a Suzuki rider now, I feel great here, I feel like I am at home, but it’s true that a change is something that in some moments can be good, also. But at the moment, I cannot speak more about it, because there is nothing decided. But let’s see.”
The biggest difference between Suzuki and Yamaha is that where for Fabio Quartararo those complaints continued after the tests at Sepang and Mandalika, Joan Mir and Alex Rins pronounced themselves happy.
Usually when a MotoGP team launches its racing effort for the coming season, our focus is on the bike.
The machines launched at these debuts may not be the 2022-spec bikes we will see at the opening round in Qatar, but they offer some sizable two-wheeled pornography for us nonetheless.
And when it comes to the ECSTAR Suzuki Team, the Suzuki GSX-RR is one of our favorites each year, as the Japanese brand has managed to adapt the four-cylinder bike to be not only one of the most balanced on the grid, but also the most attractive.
The only thing missing was the crowds. It was good to be back at Mugello, the most glorious jewel in the MotoGP calendar.
Like all jewels, Mugello comes with sharp edges that need handling with care, and it took rookies and regulars alike some time to get used to the sheer speed at which they blasted down the straight.
Brad Binder had been impressed. “This morning was my first time ever at Mugello on the GP bike so it took me a while to find my feet and figure out where to go because it’s a bit different to how I remember it in Moto2; the straight is quite a bit quicker!” the South African said, with a fine sense for understatement. “Turn 1 is a lot more on the limit to find a good marker.”
Contrary to expectations, Johann Zarco’s top speed record of 362.4 km/h set at Qatar was not broken, the Frenchman’s temporary Pramac teammate Michele Pirro managing a paltry 357.6 km/h in FP2.
It may not have been faster than the top speed at Qatar, but it certainly feels a lot faster.
The normal build up to a MotoGP weekend sees the teams and riders spend FP1 figuring out which tires they think will work, then FP2 working on setup and then chasing a preliminary spot in FP2, leaving themselves plenty of work for Saturday, especially in FP4. But, Qatar is not a normal weekend.
For a start, MotoGP arrives here after a total of five days of testing (well, four days, strictly speaking, as the last day of the test was lost to strong winds and a sandy track). Setups have already been found, tires have already been chosen.
Can the 2021 MotoGP season match the weirdness and wildness of 2020? The circumstances are different, but the path that led to Qatar 2021 has laid the groundwork for another fascinating year.
2021 sees two trends colliding to create (we hope) a perfect storm. There is the long-term strategy set out after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 by Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, with support and backing from the many bright minds in Dorna and IRTA.
Saving the best for last, perhaps? It is happenstance that the Ecstar Suzuki Racing MotoGP team is the last factory to show us their 2021 colors, but that doesn’t make it any less the treat.
A livery fitting for a team that won the 2020 MotoGP Championship, there is something beautiful about the simple blue and white livery that comes on the Suzuki GSX-RR.
For the first time since 2014, a rider prepares to defend the MotoGP title for the first time in their career.
But, the circumstances in which Joan Mir is preparing for the 2021 season are very different to who Marc Márquez prepared after he won his first MotoGP title back in 2013.
The Covid-19 pandemic means no mass celebrations, no jetting around the world to have his photo taken with sponsors, to fulfill the requirements in his contract. No going directly from the previous season into testing, with barely a break in between.
Joan Mir has had plenty of time at home, with media engagements few and far between, a necessary consequence of the pandemic. He has been in his home in Andorra, training, working to get ready for the coming season.
Earlier this week, he spoke to a group of journalists about the year ahead. And here, too, he reaped the benefits of the pandemic: he participated in a large-scale media event from comfort of his home.
No time wasted traveling, just change into a team shirt, sit down behind a laptop, and fire up the webcam.
He was as professional in the zoom debrief as he has been in every aspect of his career. And the zoom debrief was as well-organized and smoothly-run as we have come to expect from the Suzuki Ecstar team.
It’s hardly a surprise that Joan Mir won the 2020 MotoGP title.
Episode 179 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is our final show of 2020. Naturally, we have something special for you, as we take a look at Joan Mir’s season.
On the mics, we have Neil Morrison, Steve English, and our newest member to the show, Adam Wheeler (from the magazine On-Track Off-Road).
Joining the trio is MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir, along with his manager Paco Sanchez. This is definitely a show you want to give a listen.
Episode 173 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one comes to us from Valencia, Spain, as we cover the second race at this Spanish circuit, for the Valencia GP.
On the mics, we have a grand prix duo, David Emmett, and Neil Morrison, as they discuss the race weekend’s events, and what they mean for the 2020 MotoGP Championship.
Last week, Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP boss Davide Brivio held a teleconference with a number of journalists to face questions on a broad range of topics.
Brivio talked about the possibility of MotoGP resuming again at Jerez, as Dorna has announced, and what that would entail for Suzuki and for the paddock. He discussed how the manufacturers are working together to cut costs, putting an end to the long-running dispute which has divided the MSMA members, which I examined in detail on my site in this story.
Brivio also fielded questions on the 2020 MotoGP season, and how Suzuki saw the advantages and disadvantages of a curtailed season with a limited number of races taking place on an even smaller number of circuits. And he went into some detail on the contract extensions signed with riders Alex Rins and Joan Mir.
Below is the second half of the interview Davide Brivio gave to journalists: