Ce Japanese Grand Prix was placed under high tension for Davide Brivio's troops in charge of the destiny of the Suzuki brand in MotoGP. And for good reason: Motegi was the opportunity for the big boss of Hamamatsu to experience the event directly on site. A Toshihiro Suzuki that it was better not to disappoint. However, the best ranking up to that point for a GSX-RR was still a seventh place at the distant Austin Grand Prix. And both Aprilia and KTM were threatening the championship. Then the miracle happened...
Cause and effect or not, the fact remains that the presence of the big boss in the box bore fruit. The Suzukis have never been able to both place in the top 5 this year. That's done. Certainly in the rain and, certainly, 18 seconds behind the winner. But Iannone finished fourth just ahead of a convincing Kidneys which gave him a hard time.
A real relief for Davide Brivio who did not hide the importance of this race for him and his family… “ This overall result gives us some breathing space. Certainly, it was made possible by the particular circumstances of this race, but it was crucial to complete this weekend without encountering major problems. So even if it's not a victory, or even a podium, it's a great result. We have had difficulties this year, but here, our two drivers are in the top 5, and under the eyes of our bosses ».
The two GSX-RRs started tenth and eleventh. In the race, they stumbled on the lock zarco which, once jumped, opened the way to this top 5. From then on, Suzuki indeed regains some air in the championship with 77 points, ahead of Aprilia 64 and KTM 51. Honda leads the dance with 294 points ahead of Ducati 273 which dominates Yamaha at 265 units.
#JapaneseGP MotoGP J.3: Ranking
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 47'14.236 | |
| 2 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 0.249 | |
| 3 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 10.557 | |
| 4 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 18.845 | |
| 5 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 22.982 | |
| 6 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 24.464 | |
| 7 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 28.01 | |
| 8 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 29.475 | |
| 9 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 36.575 | |
| 10 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 48.506 | |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 56.357 | |
| 12 | 21 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | Yamaha | + 1'00.181 | |
| 13 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | + 1'00.980 | |
| 14 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | + 1'03.118 | |
| 15 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | + 1'03.514 | |
| 16 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | + 1'04.162 | |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | + 1'06.271 | |
| 18 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | + 1'13.250 | |
| Not Classified | |||||
| 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 3 lapses | ||
| 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 4 lapses | ||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 5 lapses | ||
| 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 10 lapses | ||
| 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 19 lapses | ||
| 31 | Kohta NOZANE | Yamaha | 21 lapses | ||
