VOLUME 59 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 25, 2022 P125
somewhat for top speed. But
at tracks with fast corners, they
can run higher corner speeds
and all the while the new Suzuki
became ever more competitive.
The first win (by Maverick
Vinales) came at Silverstone in
2016, and while they didn't actu-
ally follow thick and fast after
that, by 2020 Joan Mir was able
to rack up enough strong fin-
ishes, though only one race win,
to take the championship.
On Sunday in Australia, Ya-
maha must have been thinking it
is time they copied Suzuki. For
while the YZR-M1 has become a
MotoGP poor relation that only
Quartararo can ride fast—using
exceptional talent, courage and
determination—only one person
needed to ride the Suzuki GSX-
RR fast, and Alex Rins won the
race.
A valedictory one-off, at a
track where the rider makes the
difference.
Suzuki is in Dorna's dogbox
for its repeat withdrawal from
MotoGP, a decision that left the
team reeling, and the rest of the
paddock, too.
Not least because of the
implications. If a long-standing
racing company like Suzuki feels
comfortable turning its back on
the sport—who's next? Honda,
struggling to find form against
the rising tide of Eurobikes?
Yamaha, ditto? Are we headed
towards a Ducati one-make
championship? (The entry list
and results sometimes suggest
we are already halfway there.)
Quartararo, to be fair, might
also have challenged for vic-
tory, in a seven-strong freight
train covered by less than
nine-tenths, part of the second-
closest top 10 in history—if he
hadn't blundered under braking,
dropped to the back, then fallen
off trying to catch up again.
Errors only partly the return
of a tendency to choke under
pressure, and more just be-
cause of the superhuman effort
required to keep Yamaha among
the fast gang. Using every last
little scrap of talent sometimes
has these consequences. The
next-best Yamahas, all credit to
them, were Cal Crutchlow and
Darryn Binder at the far end of
the points.
Even before its last year, the
Suzuki had usurped the Ya-
maha's mantle as a friendly bike,
with handling and manners so
sweet that it could rival the more
powerful V4s without having to
flirt with disaster.
Why can't Yamaha do the
same?
It's because the margins in
modern MotoGP are tiny, and
the mechanical contest so very
close. The difference between a
winning bike and a 15th-placed
bike is very small indeed but
enough to make the latter look
like a bit of a klutz. And to punish
its riders accordingly. Honda
riders are as familiar with this
feeling as those on Yamahas.
And because also of the
nature of a fast-flowing circuit—
which gives riders the chance
to overcome bike problems with
their own skill. If only there were
more like this.
CN
On Sunday in Australia,
Yamaha must have been thinking
it is time they copied Suzuki.
If a long-standing
racing company
like Suzuki feels
comfortable
turning its back
on the sport—who's
next? Honda,
struggling to find
form against
the rising tide
of Eurobikes?
Yamaha, ditto? Are
we headed towards
a Ducati one-make
championship?
