at the moment. I understood
from Carmelo that after Suzuki's
announcement, other factories
showed interest.
"If I compare the situation now
to when we had the CRT situa-
tion, that was a very precarious
situation, where we had to do
everything we could to prop up
the grid. We're in a very differ-
ent space at the moment. But
again, if a macro-global situation
develops in a negative way, it
will affect everything and every-
body."
WHAT NOW?
Well, the company is still nego-
tiating with Dorna the terms on
which it will leave the series.
"The first thing we said is that
we could understand, but we
need to talk to know the situa-
tion because we have an agree-
ment with Suzuki signed just last
year," said Ezpeleta. "We need
to understand exactly where the
problem is."
One rival team manager from
a European factory believed the
fine to break their contract will
be in the region of $20 million.
Considering its MotoGP opera-
tion cost in the region of $42 mil-
lion a year, they will save around
an estimated $190 million from
the withdrawal.
Mir and Rins must somehow
put the whole saga to one side
while concentrating on depos-
ing Fabio Quartararo from his
throne. Despite showing great
promise in France, the weekend
ended in disaster with both rid-
ers crashing out.
The past month hasn't been a
good look for a company whose
MotoGP project has always
been managed with passion,
warmth and expertise—a stark
contrast to Suzuki Japan's
dealings with the event. Expect-
ing results from this team in
the coming weeks under such
circumstances seems unreason-
able.
The last time Suzuki left (at
the close of 2011), it stated its
intention to return within three
years (it eventually returned in
four). There was no return date
mentioned this time around. And
seeing how the factory has con-
ducted itself in recent weeks, it's
hard to imagine any way back for
them into the series in the near
future.
CN
WITH RIDERS
POISED
TO RENEW
COMMITMENTS
FOR NEXT YEAR,
IT APPEARS THE
FACTORY WAS
AWARE IT HAD
TO ACT NOW,
OTHERWISE
FURTHER
PENALTIES
FOR BREAKING
CONTRACTS
WOULD BE
INCOMING.
Happier times for Suzuki.
FEATURE I SUZUKI'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DEPARTURE
P114
