When Suzuki stormed to the 2020 championship, it took a lot of people by surprise. Many talented riders had been and gone within their factory squad since they returned to the championship, and none had ever come particularly close to taking down a rider’s championship. Sure, Vinales and Rins had both previously managed race wins on board the Japanese-made machine, and 2018 had been a strong season in terms of regular podium appearances, but no single rider had ever made enough of an impact to end the season with a medal draped around their shoulders.
Cue 2020, and enter Joan Mir. The young Spaniard had one of the strongest sophomore seasons imaginable, taking a slew of podiums and a win in Valencia on his way to his first MotoGP title. Mir is a hugely talented rider – he has a Moto3 title to his name as well, and was promoted to the Suzuki team after a single year in Moto2 – and partnered with the more experienced Alex Rins, they formed a nigh unbeatable combination. The two of them were regulars to parc ferme, and the second half of the season in particular saw a slew of double podiums for the factory duo.
It was a solid season, and it had a lot to do with the bike they were on. The 2020 model Suzuki shored up a number of the bike’s previous weaknesses, giving some additional top speed and allowing the riders to manage their tires better than any other bike in the grid. Combined with the silky-smooth nature of the bike’s natural riding style, we regularly saw the two Suzuki riders scything through the pack in the second half of a race when their competitors had already burnt out their own tires. It was almost an inevitability towards the end of the season.
This was Suzuki’s first rider championship since 2000, and they managed to take the team’s championship as well thanks to the success of both their riders. With Davide Brivio at the helm and such a strong combination of riders and machines, it left a number of their competitors stumped by the end of the season. Couple this strong season with the covid-instated engine freeze between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, and it seemed like they were strong favourites to double up the year after.
Of course, as we now know, this was not to be. Despite having the exact same rider combination as the season prior, Suzuki had a rather dismal 2021 campaign. While Mir was still able to take third in the championship with a number of podium finishes across the season, they were completely outmatched by a number of their rival motorcycles. Ducati and Yamaha in particular took huge steps between the two seasons, and with the Ducatis having such a massive amount of horsepower it made it almost impossible for the Suzuki riders to tap into that natural passing strategy they had used the season before. When the dust settled, they were a lonely third in both the teams’ and manufacturers’ championships.
How could a team fall so far in a single year? There are likely a number of factors behind it. For starters, Brivio actually stepped away from MotoGP at the conclusion of the 2020 season to migrate over to Formula 1, leaving a leadership vacuum within the team. It cannot be understated just how big of an impact such a loss would have had on the team, since Brivio was one of the longest-standing team managers in MotoGP at the time. Additionally, a number of questionable technical decisions were made both during the off-season and during the 2021 campaign that likely hindered their chances. After focusing on their 2022 bike during the 2021 pre-season tests, and failing to keep up with the technical advances of ride height devices that the rest of the grid were adapting to, it left the Suzuki riders with what can only be described as a sub-par bike.
This would be an unfortunate thing to see for any team, but it looked particularly bad when they had the reigning world champion on board their bike. Mir did not hesitate to criticise his bike and his team, repeatedly showing exasperation at the lack of competitiveness he was being presented with while trying to defend his crown. No rider enjoys losing their title of world champion, but it is particularly awful when the rider is not entirely to blame. While it is likely that Bagnaia and Quartararo would have beaten Mir in 2021 regardless, it was certainly disheartening to see him struggling with a motorcycle that just wasn’t giving him the tools he needed to fight and win.
Now entering his fourth season with the Suzuki factory, Mir has some big opportunities available to him. Since only three of the twelve factory seats for 2023 are currently locked in, should Mir wish to leave for pastures new, there are an almost unlimited number of options available to him. Sure, there are some factories that are likely uninterested in taking him on board – KTM strikes me as a factory that is happy with its current pool of young and upcoming talent, for example – but with a MotoGP championship to his name, Mir represents one of the most desirable targets in this year’s silly season. Should another factory have the interest and the money to persuade him to change sides, there is likely very little Suzuki will be able to do to keep him.
So what do you do in Suzuki’s position? For starters, they need to sort out their internal issues. By not filling Davide Brivio’s position the moment he left the team it created some unbelievable issues in terms of leadership dynamics, and last season showed clearly that having a number of people all trying to run the team together simply doesn’t work. It is important that every individual within a MotoGP team has a role and a purpose, and trying to divide the role of manager among a number of individuals that have other jobs to deal with was a recipe for disaster. The team needs a leader, someone who can keep charge of the riders and engineers and steer the technical design of the bike back on track.
Which brings us to the second thing that needs changing: the bike itself. The 2021 Suzuki was a bad motorcycle, plain and simple, and the manufacturer needs to make some drastic changes with their newest model. With pre-season testing for 2022 right around the corner, we will very soon be seeing just how much they’ve been able to change the bike in the lead-up to this new season, but one has to hope that they took their lessons of 2021 to heart. They know they have a good rider in Mir, and now as a manufacturer they need to supply him with a bike that can deliver results.
Another reason Suzuki will want to hang onto Mir is actually the rider alongside him. Alex Rins suffered one of his worst seasons in MotoGP in 2021, having a massive number of crashes and only managing a single podium throughout the season. He particularly built up an unfortunate habit of crashing when there was a potential podium on the line, something that cannot have sat well with the Suzuki team. Ideally, if Rins doesn’t fix his issues in the coming months, the factory would want to replace him for 2023 while hanging on to Mir as their lead rider. Should they lose him to another factory, they may have no choice but to keep Rins despite his troubles.
All told, it is going to be a very nervous few months for the Suzuki factory. Hopefully they have learnt from the mistakes that were made in 2021 – because if they haven’t, then they may have to say farewell to their strongest rider.
Solomon Talks Bikes 