Start of cleaning at Suzuki MotoGP: Satoru Terada replaced

After Suzuki's very good results last year in MotoGP, including a victory obtained at Silverstone with Maverick Vinales, the 2018 season seemed all the more promising with the entry of Andrea Iannone, also a winner in 2017, during the GP from Austria.

Then everything started to go wrong. Suzuki signed a pre-contract with Johann Zarco, brought him to Japan to test the MotoGP GSX-RR, then decided not to honor his pre-agreement and prefer Alex Rins for 2018. Results: after the seventh Grand Prix of the year which has just taken place in Barcelona, ​​Zarco is sixth in the World Championship with 75 points, Alex Rins twenty-first with 7.

Of course, Rins was injured, but what was the Suzuki team's share of responsibility for his crashes? Didn't he already break a few vertebrae during his first tests in Valencia? Who made him ride out of state in Argentina, qualifying last and re-injuring himself when he crashed in the race, while riding last behind teammate Andrea Iannone penultimate?

Iannone, before the Assen GP, ​​is in fifteenth position with his factory bike, behind the satellite machines of Cal Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci, Alvaro Bautista, Scott Redding, Jack Miller and Loris Baz. Faced with its direct opponents in the manufacturers' standings, Suzuki currently has 28 points, compared to 139 for Yamaha, 125 for Honda and 122 for Ducati. Knowing that everything is not going well for Yamaha (Jerez, Barcelona), nor for Honda (only 1 victory for Marquez), Suzuki's situation does not seem wonderful.

Heads had to start rolling, and the first to roll in the sawdust has just been that of MotoGP project leader Satoru Terada, replaced by Shinichi Sahara. To prevent dishonor from falling on the departing man, Team Director Davide Brivio immediately declared that this ejection “ had no relation to the results ". Oh well, and what other reason could there be to fire the manager of a Grand Prix team in the middle of the season?

" ATu Japan, sometimes positions change, explained Brivio in a great exercise of diplomacy. Sahara was already a project manager until 2011. When Suzuki stopped in GP, ​​he went to work for production.

“He was essentially very involved on the GSX-R 1000, as a manager. I don't know the exact position, but as far as I know he was responsible for the GSX-R 1000, which is a great bike. He did an excellent job. 

“Now, after six years, he is back racing. He wanted to return to racing. He's a racing guy. So we are happy to have him with us. Sahara as project manager did a great job because he started this project from scratch, and we already have a motorcycle at a good level. 

“OK, with difficulty now, but we won a race in the second year. We achieved a podium. He did a very good job, but in Japanese factories it is common for the position to change from time to time.

“So now we are happy to have Sahara here. This decision is not linked to results or anything. It's just normal. »

A few snakes to swallow, that's normal too, isn't it?

Photos © Suzuki

Source: Neil Morrison for crash.net