What do Alex Rins, Toni Elias and Josh Herrin have in common? The answer is simple: a racing bike from Suzuki. Although these are two different projects dedicated to two very different championships, Both in MotoGP and in MotoAmerica, the commitment of the manufacturer from Hamamatsu is the same, namely direct and official.
The Ecstar Spanier team – like its teammate Joan Mir – will benefit from the research and development of the Japanese racing department, which is constantly designing, constructing, experimenting and testing new parts for the GSX-RR, then passing them on to local testers who refine everything .
This sends the components to the test team, where Sylvain Guintoli, the Frenchman with an excellent racing record, puts them through their paces. The number 50 Michelin-studded Suzuki has everything Rins needs to drive fast, and in Texas came the first well-deserved win. Alex – taking advantage of Marquez’s fall – defeats Rossi’s Yamaha and Miller’s Ducati, with a crouched style that was as strange as it was effective.
All of this also applies to the American superbike: the US Yoshimura base is located in Chino, California, a direct branch of the Japanese branch on American soil. In a huge area, every part received from Suzuki is reviewed, developed, improved and then assembled in a final configuration that is completed by Dunlop tires. A team of Japanese engineers completes the work of art and confirms how “factory” is the structure that is committed to MotoAmerica and the GSX-R machines that run in the American series.
The results? We have already talked about Rins and his sovereign victory at CoTA, and as for Elias and Mistress … well, Toni and Josh also won directly in Texas, beating the Ultra Factory Yamaha ridden by Beaubier and Gerloff. With this, the Suzuki hat trick in Austin was completed under the watchful eye of Kevin Schwantz, who is very familiar with the philosophy of the “samurai bike” from Hamamatsu.
Looking at all the major championships – such as the World SBK – it seems clear that Suzuki is not a company that invests in every category, but where it invests, it wins and plays a prominent role.