Suzuki has reached an agreement with Dorna, the promoter of MotoGP. The Japanese brand will therefore leave the championship at the end of the 2022 season.
The team had announced in early May its decision to leave the discipline at the end of the season. Suzuki had invoked in particular ‘the current economic situation’ and ‘the need to focus its efforts on the major changes facing the world of motorized industry’.
But Dorna Sports, the Spanish promoter, had then “officially contacted” the factory to remind him of the terms of his current contract until 2026, which does not allow him to “take this decision unilaterally”.
Accord
Suzuki Motor Corporation and Dorna have reached an agreement to end Suzuki’s participation in MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season, the manufacturer announced on Wednesday. Suzuki also announced in its statement the end of its participation in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of the season.
Historic stable of the Continental Circus, Suzuki had already left MotoGP at the end of 2011, before returning to it in 2015. In 2020, it won the title of world champion for riders thanks to the Spaniard Joan Mir, as well as the title of the best team. On the other hand, the constructors’ title has always eluded him in the modern era, with all seven crowns having taken place in the former premier 500cc class from 1976 to 1982.
The drivers on their way to Honda
As for Mir and his teammate and compatriot Alex Rins, they could rebound at Honda. The first is approached within the factory team of the Japanese brand, often deprived for two years of its leader Marc Marquez, victim of falls and repeated operations. The second could arrive in the Honda-LCR satellite team, according to the specialized press.
/ATS