Scintillating Success
From the Colleda of 1960 to the championshipwinning RG500 of Barry Sheene and now the GSXRR, Suzuki Motorcycles have come a long way from a humble beginning to being a roaring success both on road and track
GREATS ARE NOT made in a day or a month or even a year. It can take ages before greatness is achieved. It involves discipline, hard work and sheer determination to keep going at it despite failure at multiple stages. One such motorcycle company that has demonstrated this in a perfect way is Suzuki Motorcycles.
Suzuki Motorcycles entered racing well before 1960, albeit mainly in domestic races held in Japan. With time aspirations grew and in 1960 the company entered its first international challenge at the toughest and the most prestigious racing event: the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. In its initial year of international racing, the company did not perform well at all. However, this bold decision to fight in the big league had proved that Suzuki was more than keen on taking on the big names in the sport.
Suzuki were racing puny RT60s (Colleda bikes) that were powered by twin-cylinder 125-cc engines at the TT and, despite finishing 15th, they were happy because all three of their machines finished the race, thus proving Suzuki’s superb reliability. Despite the lacklustre finish at TT, Suzuki kept racing at the international level and achieved their first major victory at the end of 1962, just two years after entering the international scene.
In 1961, Suzuki managed to convince Ernst Degner, star motorcycle racer and brilliant twostroke engine designer from East Germany, who, prior to his appointment at Suzuki, was designing engines and also racing them for the famous German marque, MZ. After he joined Suzuki, the company had a perfect formula to win races and, in 1962, they went on to become the champions of the world by winning the 50-cc world championship. They continued to dominate the 50-cc class till 1968, winning five more titles. They also performed exceptionally well in the 125-cc class wherein they bagged three championships between 1963 and 1970.
Amid all this success, there was also a technological marvel from Suzuki
that stood out from the crowd of other bikes. Called the RS67, this was a racer powered by a square-four 125-cc twostroke engine mated to a 12-speed gearbox. This motorcycle was really a technical masterpiece and it revved all the way up to 16,500 RPM to produce a max power of 42 PS. It had 24-mm carburettors and water-cooling and all of this combined with the rest of the bike would propel it to a top speed of 145 mph (232 km/h). Unfortunately, Suzuki only raced this motorcycle at the Japanese GP and Singapore GP in 1967–68.
By now their aspirations had become real goals for Suzuki and, after attaining superb success in the smaller classes, they graduated to the bigger 500-cc class. Suzuki entered the pinnacle of road racing at a time when the Italians dominated the championship. MV Agusta dominated the 500-cc class for two decades, with riders like John Surtees, Gary Hocking, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read all becoming champions with the brand. However, Suzuki had a secret weapon in their arsenal in the form of a young Barry Sheene and the superb RG500. This British rider was already associated with Suzuki and, in 1973, he had won the Formula 750 for the Japanese firm. In 1976, this was about to change. Barry Sheene was now up and running after a horrific crash at the Daytona 200 in 1975. In 1976 the British rider was determined to win the championship and he did so astride the new RG500. Sheene became the champion in 1976 with five race wins and consistence performance throughout the season. He and his RG500 became the first Suzuki pair to win the 500-cc championship.
Sheene and Suzuki did not stop there. In 1977, the pair once again became champions by winning six races. Sheene continued with Suzuki till the end of 1979, after which he moved to Yamaha. Nevertheless, he was always known for his wins with Suzuki; even to date the number seven RG500 of Sheene is the symbol of a superb collaboration between a team and rider.
Following Sheene’s exit, Suzuki had
a few bad years when Yamaha’s Kenny Roberts started winning the championships. However, in 1981, the Italian rider, Marco Lucchinelli, stunned everyone by becoming the new champion for Suzuki. In the following year, another Italian rider, Franco Uncini, claimed the champion’s trophy one more time for Suzuki.
But this was the end of the glory days of Suzuki. For the next decade no rider could get the Japanese marque back in the number one position in the 500-cc championship. But all of this was about to change. A young rider from America seemed quite promising and, in 1984, he was signed by Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike team to race at the domestic competitions in the USA and, boy, did he impress! This young racer was Kevin Schwantz, who impressed Suzuki and racing fans with his amazing skills and talent so much that in 1988 he was sent by Suzuki to compete in the 500-cc championship. His first 500-cc race win came at the Japanese GP in 1988. His machine was the new RGV 500. Schwantz impressed the crowds around the world with his performance and fierce rivalry with Wayne Rainey and Gardner, Doohan, and Lawson. Their dog-fights were of epic proportions, especially between Rainey and Schwantz. After an intense half a decade of fierce battles, Schwantz
finally earned Suzuki a championship when, in 1993, he won four of the 14 races and was constantly on the podium throughout the season. Unfortunately, Kevin retired from the sport in 1995.
After Schwantz the next rider who was successful on a Suzuki was Kenny Roberts Junior. Son of legendary racer Kenny Roberts Senior, Junior was signed by Suzuki in 1999, when he won the first two races of the season, beating the legendary Michael Doohan, who retired mid-season. In 1999, it seemed that Junior would take the championship but his inconsistent form allowed another rider, Àlex Crivillé of Repsol Honda, to win the championship. Roberts, however, finished second in the championship.
The following year, Roberts returned to the grid with Suzuki and went on to win the championship with four race victories and five podiums. This was the last of Suzuki’s championships in MotoGP. However, in 2014, Suzuki returned to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing with the GSX-RR, which was raced by Randy de Puniet at the last round of the season. In 2015, Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró came on board as official riders.
Last year was one of learning for the team and this year they have found consistency and, thanks to Maverick, we now see the GSX-RR compete with the top names in the sport. Currently, Viñales is running fifth in the championship.
Suzuki are trying to find success on the track at the world level and in India the company has launched a brilliant initiative whereby novice and expert riders can fulfil their racing dreams by participating in the one-make racing series, called the Gixxer Cup. Suzuki have converted their highly successful Gixxer SF into a racing machine with minimum modifications. The basic bike itself is such a capable machine that it doesn’t require much to turn into a racer. The Gixxer Cup is also the gateway to the world of international racing as Suzuki have collaborated with Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup, giving young and budding racers from India a chance to race in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, which is a stepping stone to Moto3 and then to MotoGP. We have covered more details about the Gixxer SF and the Gixxer Cup in the following pages, so keep reading if you are a budding racer.