Suzuki has officially announced that the end of the 2022 season will be their last time competing in the MotoGP race. On Thursday (12/5), through their official channel, they confirmed that they would no longer participate in the Grand Prix due to the team's financial and economic problems.
"Suzuki Motor Corporation is in discussions with Dorna about the possibility of ending its participation in MotoGP at the end of 2022. Unfortunately, the current economic situation and the need to concentrate efforts on the major changes facing the Automotive world in recent years, forced Suzuki to shift costs and resources to human resources to develop new technologies," wrote Suzuki, quoted from Suzuki-Racing.
Suzuki also appreciates the support for the fans and the Suzuki Ecstar team who have contributed since 2015. "We would like to say a big thank you to the Suzuki Ecstar Team and to all those who have supported Suzuki motorcycle racing activities over the years. Then to all Suzuki fans who have given us enthusiastic support," Suzuki continued in his statement.
Until now, Suzuki has collected 16 motorcycle racing titles since its debut in 1962. Most recently when the Japanese manufacturer won the MotoGP world title in 2020 through the expertise of Joan Mir.
Mir managed to become the 2020 MotoGP world champion while leaving 1 last series. The 25-year-old racer managed to smoke Franco Morbidelli with a difference of 13 points. The 2022 season was one of Suzuki's best moments, apart from Mir succeeding in bringing Suzuki to the top, his partner Alex Rins' performance was also quite good by staying in 3rd position until the end of the racing season at that time.
Now in the 2022 season, the performance of the two Suzuki riders is also quite competitive. Mir and Rins are still very likely to win the championship because the race has only been running for 5 series. Rins is currently 4th in the 2022 MotoGP standings and Mir is 6th.
Before the era of Mir and Rins, Suzuki had triumphed and won the world champion victory thanks to the achievements of Barry Sheene, Marco Lucchinelli, Franco Uncini, Kevin Schwantz, and Kenny Roberts Jr. However, these 4 racers compete in the 500cc class.
Kenny Roberts Jr. became the last Suzuki rider to successfully win the world title in the 500cc premier class in 2000. But Kenny's luck did not run smoothly in the next season even when he rose to the MotoGP premier class. It was only in 2020, Mir and Rins returned Suzuki's sharp fangs at the elite level of racing.
Unfortunately in the 2021 season Mir and Rins were not as consistent as the previous season. Mir was only in 3rd place and Rins was scattered far in 13th position until the end of the season. As explained earlier, the chance for these two riders to shine in MotoGP 2022 is actually wide open, but with information that Suzuki's departure from the MotoGP race will affect the performance of both.
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