A few months ago we found out that BMW had bought Suzuki’s project in MotoGP or, to be more strict, BMW had acquired the data of the last Suzuki MotoGP that competed in the premier class in 2022. It was then when Suzuki left its project , dragged by a rather complicated global situation of the company.
This data acquisition was strange from the point of view of the evolution that MotoGP has experienced in these two years, and even more so taking into account that BMW’s plans were not to enter in 2025 and, surely, they would not do so until 2027 with the new regulation. That is, we would be talking about a use of data for development based on motorcycles five years apart and a different technical regulation.
But if this acquisition sounded strange, it sounds even stranger that a few months after this Suzuki spoke publicly about the possibility of a return to MotoGP. In statements reported by Corriere dello Sport Toshihiro Suzuki, president of Suzuki, stated: «We will return to racing and we will do it to win. But for that, we must first solve our problems in the market. “If we don’t have a full range and detailed models to offer our customers, being in MotoGP doesn’t make sense.”
Suzuki’s return is, for now, a wish and not a plan, but it would not make minimal sense until 2027
Now, if we analyze these words, they are nothing more than a toast to the sun, a declaration of intentions, but they are by no means the reflection of a plan. In these statements that many have taken for granted as proof that Suzuki will return to MotoGP, the truth is that there is a condition that greatly complicates the situation.
And it is not about improving economic figures but about offering a “full range to customers”. It is, therefore, a rather diffuse condition, since it is not specified whether it refers to a range of renewed sports shoes or, on the contrary, it talks about updating the range in all segments.
In this sense, it must be remembered that some of the Suzuki models have been in their catalogs for years receiving slight modifications, but on the basis of a decade or more ago in some cases. That is why Suzuki’s words reflect nothing more than a longing and it must be taken as such. Of course, we would all like to see the manufacturer return, which, remember, already left MotoGP to end up returning in style and winning the title with Joan Mir in 2020.
Will we see them back in 2027? Who knows, perhaps with BMW or with other manufacturers that may be interested in the premier class, but the truth is that as of today Suzuki is not there and is not expected to be in the short term. Furthermore, to the technical part we would have to add the places in the category and that is where Dorna and its management would come in, an extra challenge.
