INTERVIEW I KEVIN SCHWANTZ
P86
"It's such a hard thing at Suzuki with the
manufacturer being so much smaller, with
the race shop being that much smaller,
the development team being that much
smaller. There are no satellite teams to
help you with input, to give you data. It's
a really, really hard job. It's so easy to get
frustrated. But what you've got to remem-
ber is the guys at the shop are the guys
that gave you the bike that you won on last year.
They're eventually going to get it right again. If
you continue to race at the front and get close,
they'll eventually put something underneath you
that will put you where you want to be."
Does the former number-34 consider Mir, the
current number-36, to be riding on the same
level as the men ahead of him in the champion-
championship]. I think Fabio's done a great job. I
love the pressure Pecco's applying right now. But
I think it could be just too little, too late."
Talk turns to the manufacturer Schwantz used
to call home. Suzuki came into the 2021 season
as defending champions for the first time in 20
years. And despite a host of spirited performanc-
es, Mir's title defense came to an end in Texas
with a muted eighth place. A lack of development
has led to the GSX-RR to drop from
the grid's best bike to one that has
struggled to keep up with the Ducatis
and Quartararo's Yamaha.
Yet maintaining that edge as a manu-
facturer is never easy, with Suzuki one
of the lesser resourced factories on
the grid. As Schwantz—one of only
six men to have won a premier class
crown with Suzuki—explained, the factory's size
must always be taken into account.
"[Joan] needs to realize he's been there three
years now. He's had a decent bike [in 2019] and
a great bike [in 2020]. Now he's seeing what it's
like the rest of the time when it's not one of those
few [best bikes that Suzuki produces] every six,
seven or eight years.
Schwantz's
ability to come
back from injury
was legendary.
This broken
wrist on Friday
at Assen in 1994
saw him ride to
fifth place on
Sunday.
"I mean, oh my gosh! He's just
a kid where you walk in the
garage, and he pukes confidence.
He was like, 'Oh hey! Nice to
meet you, my dad used to call
me Kevin! My name was Pedro,
but I raced the number 34.'"
