Dear friends,
Working for Team Suzuki Ecstar has been an incredible experience. Unfortunately, for me, it has been a short period of just a few months, however, in this time I’ve lived through many emotions and made many memories. will never forget the 2022 season.
I arrived in Qatar, and the first thing that struck me was how welcoming the team were. They immediately made me feel at home, and I believe this is a unique and special characteristic about Team Suzuki; the sense of “family”.
The next thing I realised was how dedicated and well-organised the entire squad are: from the logistics through to the PR and everything in between, it’s all very precise and well run. All the engineers who work in the team are highly skilled, and this means the GSX-RR has proven to be very competitive at virtually every circuit.
And of course, there are our riders; Alex Rins and Joan Mir. Two very talented and devoted young guys who have always given their all for the team and who make us proud with their professionalism. Despite a great start to the season, things didn’t go as we hoped after the announcement of the withdrawal. It is difficult to say how much the “bad news” had an influence on our performance, I can certainly say that the work ethic from everyone remained at a high level, but we were quite unlucky with Alex and Joan both picking up injuries that forced them to skip a few races.
I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all the team members, to Alex and Joan, as well as Sylvain Guintoli and Takuya Tsuda for their work. I’d also like to extend a thanks to Kazuki Watanabe and Danilo Petrucci, who we briefly but happily welcomed to our team.
Next year Suzuki will not race in MotoGP, but this experience has left an indelible mark on me, and I’m sure on many of us. I know that our amazing fans and partners around the world will remember this team for many years to come, their passion and support has pushed us until the final flag. For this reason, we would like to give you this book as a last present, and as a great way to remember this superb project that has now come to a close.
LIVIO SUPPO
2015 marked our first full season back, and our riders were the young and ambitious pair of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales. This ‘bedding in’ year resulted in several Top 10 race finishes, and 11th and 12th respectively in the championship standings.
Our first sweet taste of success came in 2016, with a debut victory for Team Suzuki Ecstar and Maverick Viñales in Silverstone. We already had faith in our project, but this win boosted our belief and motivated us to push on.
A new line-up emerged in 2017; the dynamic duo of Andrea Iannone and MotoGP rookie, Alex Rins. It was a shake-up for the squad, but one which kept us striving for more, and put us on a path to further success.
We secured an impressive nine podiums between our riders in the 2018 season, as Rins grew in confidence and Iannone strutted his stuff - especially in Texas where he wore the Stetson with pride from the top step of the podium.
As the world reeled from the pandemic and the MotoGP calendar was left in tatters, Suzuki pulled together and remained focused. Joan Mir put together a sensational season, showing consistency and maturity to be crowned MotoGP World Champion. Alex Rins’ impressive form saw him finish 3rd in the standings too. This was truly the ‘comeback’ year for Suzuki.
As the world reeled from the pandemic and the MotoGP calendar was left in tatters, Suzuki pulled together and remained focused. Joan Mir put together a sensational season, showing consistency and maturity to be crowned MotoGP World Champion. Alex Rins’ impressive form saw him finish 3rd in the standings too. This was truly the ‘comeback’ year for Suzuki.
What the team lacked in luck in 2021, they made up for in tenacity. Alex had a tough year, although a second place at his beloved Silverstone gave him a boost. Joan clocked six podiums through the year, and his consistency gained him 3rd place in the standings at the close of the season.
The final flag. Perhaps the highlight of the year for us was Alex’s heartfelt and thought-provoking final Suzuki victory in Valencia. Joan also put in many brave and determined displays. We pulled together for every session of the last season showing our true team spirit.
