Suzuki MotoGP bikes to be crushed as Grand Prix project ends
Suzuki MotoGP boss Livio Suppo has revealed that some of the bikes ridden this season will be crushed as the Hamamatsu factory bows out
IN news that will make all MotoGP fans wince, Suzuki team boss Livio Suppo has spoken about what will happen to the Hamamatsu brand’s race bike now the season has ended. And it isn’t a happy ending…
MotoGP is a funny old business. In years gone by it was ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’, the old adage that used to outline how the race series helped mainstream manufacturers. For some of Suzuki’s prototype racers though, it’s more like 'win on Sunday, get crushed on Monday', as the Suzuki team boss explains what will happen to some of the machines now the GP programme is closed.
Speaking to GP One, Suppo revealed what Suzuki’s plan was for the leftover machines, and while some will be saved, likely ending up in the Suzuki History Museum in Hamamatsu, the others will be heading to the crusher. Suppo goes on to explain how the process is a cost-cutting measure, removing the tax burden the bikes would bring should they be kept as trophies.
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“A couple of these bikes will end up in some museum, the others will end up destroyed along with the spare parts and all … All Japanese manufacturers do it for tax reasons because otherwise they would be active and would have to pay taxes. Since they are no longer usable, they choose to always destroy everything.”
That isn’t to say all of the bikes will be meeting this grizzly end though, as it’s also reported that the riders will be taking their pick of the GSX-RRs. Indeed, Alex Rins, who took a sensational win at the final 2022 round in Valencia, has already asked for his race-winning machine, although there is no guarantee he’ll get it. “I have asked for it, but they already told me that this is paid. If I have the opportunity, yes [I will buy it].” He is reported to have said.
Suzuki withdrew from the MotoGP earlier this year, leaving both the riders and team, fans, and Dorna perplexed with the decision. The announcement came just two years after Joan Mir’s sensational world championship win, in a season when his consistency was key to taking the crown. The withdrawal coincided with the Hamamatsu factory also closing the garage door on its official Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, EWC champions in 2020 and 2021.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
