One of the first burning issues that Livio Suppo will have to face in Suzuki is that of the riders. The Italian has taken over a team whose standard bearers are due to expire at the end of this season, but the trend is to renew: this is Joan Mir’s “priority”, and on the other side of the box, Álex Rins has said he’s ready to talk to the competition, but his name isn’t mentioned in any of the other teams yet.
Fabio Quartararo has made himself available for 2023 because, before renewing with Yamaha, he asks for guarantees on the intensity of the development carried out at Iwata. Questioned by Canal + about the attractiveness of Quartararo, Suppo remained evasive, also praising the qualities of his current drivers. “Fabio is Fabio!” said the Suzuki team manager. “He had an incredible season last year, the only very strong Yamaha rider. For sure he is a very strong world champion, but honestly I think Álex and Joan are on the same level.”
Livio Suppo confirms his team’s desire to extend both the contract of Joan Mir, who won the title in 2020, and that of Álex Rins, winner of three races with the House of the big S, but he doesn’t want to rush into any discussion, preferring to evaluate the forces present before entering into concrete discussions.
“Sahara-san (Suzuki project manager, ed) said in an interview that when you have two good riders like Joan and Álex, the priority is to keep them because they are not easy to replace. This is the priority”, confirmed Suppo in a press conference.
“On the other hand, maybe because I’m getting older, I think we could go back to what we had 15 or 20 years ago in MotoGP, wait a bit for the course of the season to make a decision. It would be good for the competition. I should be there. ‘last to talk about it because we were in the spotlight with Casey (Stoner, whose departure from Ducati to Honda, which he managed, in 2011 was announced in July 2010, ed). I should be the first to keep my mouth shut! “.
In recent months, some drivers have moved away from the “classic” agreements of one or two seasons, preferring a long-term commitment. Marc Márquez and Brad Binder are under contract until 2024, and Pecco Bagnaia has recently followed suit by signing a renewal with Ducati before the start of the season. Suppo understands that some teams want to get rid of these problems as soon as possible.
“Honestly, I think it depends on the conditions. For example, I fully understand that Ducati wants to renew Pecco because they are happy with him. If they renew him now, they give him confidence for the future and this is good. It could be the same for us. so why not. But on the other hand, I think that for the team, the club and the riders, waiting for a few races is always better. “
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