Suzuki latest marque to commit to MotoGP through 2026

Suzuki’s history in grand prix motorcycle racing dates back to 1960 when it made its debut at the Isle of Man TT when the event held world championship status.

Over the next 40 years Suzuki won six premier class titles with Barry Sheene (1976-1977), Marco Lucchinelli (1981), Franco Uncini (1982), Kevin Schwantz (1993) and Kenny Roberts Jr. (2000).

Suzuki withdrew from the premier class at the end of the 2011 season due to financial reasons, before staging a full-time factory return in 2015.

Becoming grand prix winners again by its second season, Suzuki was guided to its first world title in two decades last year when Joan Mir stormed to his first MotoGP championship, with Alex Rins in third in the standings.

Suzuki is the fifth manufacturer to sign MotoGP promoter Dorna’s new five-year deal, with Aprilia the only marque yet to commit – though is fully expected to continue in 2022.

“As Suzuki Motor Corporation we are proud to continue to compete in the MotoGP World Championship, as we all share the challenging ambition of measuring ourselves against the top motorcycling competition in the world,” Suzuki project leader Shinichi Sahara said.

“We started this new journey in 2015 and in only six years we achieved the riders’ world title, together with the teams’ title, and we are still hungry for more success.

“For these reasons we have extended our agreement with Dorna, with the hope and the commitment to continue the development of the technical and racing sides of the company.”

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta added: “We are very happy with the renewal of the agreement with Suzuki, a factory with which we have been riding along for years in the world championship and enjoy a great cooperation.

“Their return to MotoGP in 2015 was immediately proved a success and confirmed with the culmination of winning the world title in 2020 with Joan Mir, we proudly extend this partnership and hope to continue setting milestones with this iconic brand.”

Mir currently sits fifth in the standings after three rounds, having scored his first podium of the campaign last weekend in Portugal, while teammate Rins is seventh after crashing out of the lead battle in Portimao.

Suzuki had to revise its management structure ahead of the 2021 season when long-time team boss Davide Brivio left to join Alpine in Formula 1.

Electing against a direct replacement, Suzuki is now run by a management committee formed of seven high-profile figures from the team.