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MotoGP Preview of the French GP: An Open Track, Suzuki’s Withdrawal, & Tire Pressures

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There is a MotoGP race at Le Mans this weekend, but to be honest, it is hard to concentrate on the race. A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks, which has shaken up MotoGP to a degree we hadn’t expected even as late as two weeks ago.

Suzuki’s withdrawal blows the MotoGP silly season right open, with not just rider seats up in the air, but grid slots and bikes too.

Then there’s the controversy over tire pressures being routinely under the minimum allowed, and whether that is even an issue or not, given the MSMA have agreed not to do anything about it.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Testing Review: Suzuki – The Quiet Threat

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The Yamaha YZR-M1 and the Suzuki GSX-RR have a lot in common. Both are inline four cylinder machines, and both rely more on corner speed and maneuverability than outright speed. And the riders of both machines have complained about a lack of speed at great length.

So great was Joan Mir’s frustration with the Suzuki’s lack of power in 2021 that he made a veiled threat to seek solace elsewhere. “A lot of people finish their contracts in 2022 and we are hoping to renew, or to take a different decision,” the 2020 world champion said before the test at Sepang.

“Honestly, the test will be important for me. It will be important to understand everything. As a Suzuki rider now, I feel great here, I feel like I am at home, but it’s true that a change is something that in some moments can be good, also. But at the moment, I cannot speak more about it, because there is nothing decided. But let’s see.”

The biggest difference between Suzuki and Yamaha is that where for Fabio Quartararo those complaints continued after the tests at Sepang and Mandalika, Joan Mir and Alex Rins pronounced themselves happy.

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MotoGP

Livio Suppo Is the New Manager of Suzuki’s MotoGP Team

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Suzuki’s quest for a team manager is at an end. After a year of searching for a replacement for Davide Brivio, who left MotoGP to join the Alpine F1 team at the end of 2020, Suzuki has finally announced the hiring of Livio Suppo to run the MotoGP team.

Suppo is a very experienced team manager, having set up Ducati’s MotoGP team when they first entered the class back in 2003, and having run the Repsol Honda squad after leaving Ducati at the end of 2009.

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MotoGP

You Must See the Photos from Suzuki’s Saucy MotoGP Team Launch

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Usually when a MotoGP team launches its racing effort for the coming season, our focus is on the bike.

The machines launched at these debuts may not be the 2022-spec bikes we will see at the opening round in Qatar, but they offer some sizable two-wheeled pornography for us nonetheless.

And when it comes to the ECSTAR Suzuki Team, the Suzuki GSX-RR is one of our favorites each year, as the Japanese brand has managed to adapt the four-cylinder bike to be not only one of the most balanced on the grid, but also the most attractive.

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MotoGP

Joan Mir: “I’m The Man To Beat, But I’m Not The Favorite”

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Joan Mir on the ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-RR MotoGP bike

For the first time since 2014, a rider prepares to defend the MotoGP title for the first time in their career.

But, the circumstances in which Joan Mir is preparing for the 2021 season are very different to who Marc Márquez prepared after he won his first MotoGP title back in 2013.

The Covid-19 pandemic means no mass celebrations, no jetting around the world to have his photo taken with sponsors, to fulfill the requirements in his contract. No going directly from the previous season into testing, with barely a break in between.

Joan Mir has had plenty of time at home, with media engagements few and far between, a necessary consequence of the pandemic. He has been in his home in Andorra, training, working to get ready for the coming season.

Earlier this week, he spoke to a group of journalists about the year ahead. And here, too, he reaped the benefits of the pandemic: he participated in a large-scale media event from comfort of his home.

No time wasted traveling, just change into a team shirt, sit down behind a laptop, and fire up the webcam.

He was as professional in the zoom debrief as he has been in every aspect of his career. And the zoom debrief was as well-organized and smoothly-run as we have come to expect from the Suzuki Ecstar team.

It’s hardly a surprise that Joan Mir won the 2020 MotoGP title.

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MotoGP

Davide Brivio Leaves Suzuki for the Formula 1 Paddock

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Less than two months after winning Suzuki’s first MotoGP championship in 20 years, Davide Brivio has decided to leave his role as manager of the Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP team and move to lead the Alpine F1 team in four-wheel racing’s premier class.

The move was reported last night by Autosportand confirmed by a press release from Suzuki this morning.

The news comes as a massive shock to Suzuki and the MotoGP world. It is also a serious blow to Suzuki’s MotoGP project.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast #179 – Joan Mir, World Champion

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Episode 179 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is our final show of 2020. Naturally, we have something special for you, as we take a look at Joan Mir’s season.

On the mics, we have Neil Morrison, Steve English, and our newest member to the show, Adam Wheeler (from the magazine On-Track Off-Road).

Joining the trio is MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir, along with his manager Paco Sanchez. This is definitely a show you want to give a listen.

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MotoGP

Gresini Racing Confirms Independent MotoGP Team Status for 2022

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The first step toward the 2022 MotoGP grid has taken place. With a new five-year contract period between Dorna, the manufacturers, and IRTA as representative of the teams starting in 2022, grid slots are open for application once again.

Gresini Racing, led by Fausto Gresini, is to separate from Aprilia and become an independent team once again, they announced in a press release.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #175 – Suzuki & Ducati in MotoGP

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Episode 175 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one starts our review of the 2020 MotoGP Championship season, as we take a look at the fates of the various manufacturers.

On the mics, we have Neil Morrison and our newest member to the show, Adam Wheeler (from the magazine On-Track Off-Road).

Taking the manufacturers two at a time, this episode focuses on the results of the Suzuki and Ducati squads during the year. The two brands showed strong results, though perhaps in the most different of ways.

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MotoGP

Suzuki’s Davide Brivio Talks About How Suzuki Sees a Shortened Season And Negotiations with Rins & Mir

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Last week, Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP boss Davide Brivio held a teleconference with a number of journalists to face questions on a broad range of topics.

Brivio talked about the possibility of MotoGP resuming again at Jerez, as Dorna has announced, and what that would entail for Suzuki and for the paddock. He discussed how the manufacturers are working together to cut costs, putting an end to the long-running dispute which has divided the MSMA members, which I examined in detail on my site in this story.

Brivio also fielded questions on the 2020 MotoGP season, and how Suzuki saw the advantages and disadvantages of a curtailed season with a limited number of races taking place on an even smaller number of circuits. And he went into some detail on the contract extensions signed with riders Alex Rins and Joan Mir.

Below is the second half of the interview Davide Brivio gave to journalists:

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