Suzuki’s factory racing division has officially confirmed plans to partner with MotoGP until at least the end of 2026.
Jaon Mir, driver of Team Suzuki Ecstar became MotoGP champion in 2020, and teammate Alex Rins is close to becoming vice-champion. Factory team Suzuki took the team title at the end of the season, having lost the Manufacturers’ Cup on the last weekend of the season. In November 2020, Suzuki’s official project could set an all-time record for all the company’s participation in the FIM Grand Prix World Championship by taking the Triple Crown. Suzuki has been participating in the Moto Grand Prix since 1960, and in the 80s and 90s the company’s pilots fought for dominance in the series when 2-stroke technology reached its peak of technological development. Suzuki had one of the fastest prototypes with a 2-stroke 500cc engine: the RGV brought Suzuki the title in 2000 with Kenny Roberts Jr. on board, and in 2001 Roberts also fought for the title. But then the sunset came for Hamamatsu. The transition to 4-stroke engines turned out to be a disaster, since the plant chose not the most successful direction in development for many years, which led to the collapse of the project and withdrawal from the championship for several years. In 2014, it was decided to return with a fundamentally new prototype – the Suzuki GSX-RR, based on the engine technologies that the plant had been practicing since the 90s of the XX century: a 4-cylinder in-line engine was taken as the basis of the engine of the new prototype – and this helped make a coup.
Suzuki intends to continue the battle for all three trophies for the next 5 years! Photo: Team Suzuki Ecstar drivers – Joan Mir and Alex Rins; factory project managers – Ken Kawayuchi and Shinichi Sahara; official developer and test driver of Suzuki – Sylvain Guintoli