After the Spanish GP last May, Suzuki made the shocking decision to abandon MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season, despite having signed to race in the category for another five years, that is until 2026. The Japanese brand cited concerns as a reason. financial and a change in the automotive industry, even if the announcement came only one race after Alex Rins had taken the top of the overall standings in MotoGP.
Suzuki have won twice since then, with Rins taking the win in Australia and last Sunday, in the thrilling Valencia Grand Prix, the farewell race of the Hamamatsu manufacturer. Joan Mir, who in 2020 brought the title back to Suzuki after twenty years, the first in MotoGP, says the brand will “regret” the decision to leave, because no marketing campaign will be as strong as MotoGP “with a good team”.
“It is exciting to finish what is the last race for Suzuki like this,” said Mir, sixth in Valencia. “I think Japan will probably regret it. But if they made that decision, it was for an important reason. I want to thank Suzuki for what they have done for me, thanks to the super team that surrounds me and which has always been at the top. “
I don’t know if it’s a regret, maybe they want to invest in other things. But for me, even if you look at the different aspects, the image we are giving here in MotoGP, with a good bike, with a good team, I think that no advertising campaign can give what we are giving here. So I don’t understand why they made this decision. But in any case they will have their reasons ”.
Joan Mir, Suzuki MotoGP Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
In September, Rins revealed that Suzuki had not yet given him a clear answer as to why he decided to leave MotoGP. In the early stages of the Valencia GP, Mir looked like he could be a threat to the podium, but he wasted too much time trying to overtake champion Francesco Bagnaia, before a transponder problem compromised his electronics in the final laps.
“It was a very good race, I enjoyed it,” said Mir. “If you ask me what could have been better, I say two things: being a little more aggressive with Bagnaia, I wasted some time. But if I were in his place, I probably wouldn’t want anyone to do crazy maneuvers on me. So. , I probably lost three or four laps which were essential to finish later.
“Then, in the last three laps I had a problem with the transponder and the electronics of the bike were completely gone. I lost a position for that reason and I lost a bit of rhythm. A bit of bad luck, but we managed to finish the race. Honestly I’m happy with the pace. I’m disappointed with my season in general, because we’ve always had problems, a bit of bad luck, a few mistakes, “concluded the Majorcan.
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