Why Suzuki don’t want Fabio
Japanese team say they have no need for Fabio when they’ve already got Rins and Mir
Suzuki will not join the bidding war for Yamaha young gun Fabio Quartararo as they plan to consolidate their 2021 MotoGP strategy with an unchanged rider line-up. Team boss Davide Brivio is in advanced talks with current riders Alex Rins and Joan Mir, deciding to stay away from what he calls “a crazy” rider market. But while this approach appears conservative, Suzuki have plenty of ambition to become title contenders with a precisely executed policy of inhouse rider development.
It’s now nudging 20 years since Suzuki’s last premier class crown, with Kenny Roberts Jnr in 2000. “We’re here to win the championship, the GSX-RR is a very good bike and we have a good organisation,” said Brivio. “So we’re trying to create our own top riders with young guys and put everything together. We’re only talking to Alex and Joan. Our intention is to continue with these two guys in 2021. “We’ve gone into more detail with Alex and looks like we are ready to proceed. Joan will take more time but we’re happy with him. And we see Fabio as part of the Yamaha business.
“I think we will take decisions soon, possibly before Sepang (February). I think by the first race in Qatar a lot of factory deals will be done.
“This rider market is a little crazy with some talks starting back in September 2019 for 2021.”
Both Rins, in 2017, and Mir (2019) joined Suzuki as highly rated rookies and have deals until the end of 2020.
Rins, 24, won two races and finished fourth in the 2019 series, just six points behind Maverick Viñales (Yamaha) in third. Mir, a 22-year-old rookie, finished the season strongly with fifth in the Australian GP.
“At the beginning of the year we’d have settled for two wins and a challenge for third in the championship,” Brivio added. “This was important for Suzuki. It’s the first time since 2000 that they’ve won at least two races in a season.
“But after Alex’s win at Silverstone his progress was a little up and down. If we improve and get more consistency I think Alex can fight for wins and the championship in the future. “And Joan is very promising. After he came back at Misano from injury he showed he’s a great racer but still learning strategy and tyre management.”