Suzuki has decided to play the youth card to the fullest for its next two years in MotoGP. alex rins 22 years and Joan mir 20 years will in fact be the only representatives of the Hamamatsu firm on the starting grid of the elite Grands Prix. A gamble since, a priori, the men on the GSX-RR are supposed to hope to compete for the world title. That being said, given the squad, Suzuki can do without a junior team...
Because in addition to the formalization of Joan mir, the other news is that Suzuki will continue alone. A fact which dates back to 2002, which continued until the eclipse which began in 2011 and which has therefore continued since 2015, the year of the return with Alex Espargaro et Maverick Vinales. The factory approached LCR last year without success then thought of Marc VDS before this structure hampered its chances by drowning in internal problems.
On the financial side, still no title sponsor even if Monster might be in the pipeline, but as for the second driver, Joan mir is assured of his position. The Spaniard started competing at ten years old, on minimotos in local competitions. The Majorcan then joined the PreGP 125cc of the CEV in 2012, where he achieved four successes. Invited to compete in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, he obtained a second place in his first season, but did even better a year later with three victories, three podiums and a vice-Champion trophy.
Among the favorites for CEV Moto3 in 2015, he however made too many mistakes and finished fourth. That year, the Spaniard also competed in his first Moto3 Grand Prix at Phillip Island, replacingHiroki Ono, but falls. Hired by the Leopard Racing team to race on a KTM in 2016, he triumphed in Austria and signed two Top 3s. Ranked fifth and best rookie, the latter officiated a second year for the same structure, this time on Honda.
His 2017 campaign began with two successes and the Mallorcan very often monopolized the top step of the podium, so much so that he was crowned with three rounds remaining in Australia. In 2018, he is the teammate ofAlex Marquez within the Moto2 EG 0,0 Marc VDS team. A category where he will only have made a brief appearance.
Shinichi Sahara – Project Manager: “As a team we have always tried to anticipate long-term development plans, which also includes making bets on young riders who we believe can be an investment for the future. We did it in our first year in 2015, we did it again in 2017 when we signed debutant Alex Rins, who was also confirmed this year, and we confirm it again with the Joan Mir deal . He is a young talent that we would like to see grow and help us grow the GSX-RR and the team with him. He is now involved in the Moto2 category and we absolutely want him to enjoy the championship, but we can't wait to start working with him and see him make his debut in the top category. We believe in his skills.”
Davide Brivio – Team Leader: “Joan Mir is only 20 years old now, already world champion with 10 wins last year and he has already proven several skills. He's fierce, he's witty, he's kind and he can be very fast. All the characteristics that we like to look for in a young rider, who wants to join us not only for the prestige of a factory machine in the top category but above all because he believes in our racing project. Talking to him, I realized how clear-minded he was, how much he loved our Suzuki project and wanted to join us. This was a big boost for us. Of course, we know very well that he will need time to gain experience and progress with us, but we have full confidence in his potential. Suzuki management encouraged us to pursue the 'young rider philosophy' and with Joan I think we have found the perfect protagonist for this role. With Alex and Joan we have two very talented drivers and our goal is to create a strong team for the future”.
