Those responsible for the Japanese manufacturer met this Monday with all the members of the team, which is in Jerez, on the occasion of the collective rehearsal that was being carried out on the Andalusian track, and communicated the decision to abandon the MotoGP championship once finish this course, news that shocked most of those present.
Suzuki, who already left the World Championship in 2012 in the first instance, returned to the contest three years later (2015), with Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró as pilots. After a stage of growth, Joan Mir returned the title to the Hamamatsu manufacturer in the 2020 season, two decades after the last conquest, in 2000, at the hands of Kenny Roberts Júnior.
The title coincided with the farewell of Davide Brivio, who in his role as team manager was a key player in the entire project. With a view to this 2022, the leadership of the board, with Shinichi Sahara at the helm, decided to hire Livio Suppo in that role. One of the first decisions that the Italian had to make was the configuration of the starting driver line-up with a view to the 2023 campaign, given that the contracts of Mir and Alex Rins expire at the end of this year. However, this surprising change of course will completely alter the landscape.
Pending official confirmation, which will surely arrive in the next few hours, everything seems to indicate that Joan Mir ‘s next destination will be Honda , as Marc Márquez’s partner and replacing Pol Espargaró. Less clear are the colors that Alex Rins will wear from next season.
Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Dorna
