Livio Suppo EXCLUSIVE: Suzuki was ‘strongest’ Japanese manufacturer, this was their secret

That’s the opinion of the factory’s former team manager Livio Suppo, who had previously guided Ducati and Honda to title glory before later joining Suzuki for what would be its final MotoGP campaign,

And amid an ongoing slump for the remaining Japanese manufacturers, Honda and Yamaha, Suppo is clear about what he believes was the secret to Suzuki’s success.

“The key point for me is not that you need to have the engineers [based] in Europe,” Suppo replied, when asked if Honda and Yamaha need to move more of their MotoGP projects from Japan to Europe.

“The organisation of Suzuki was good. At the track, there were a lot of European guys. And the Japanese listened to what they were saying. 

“I think this was the secret of Suzuki.

“Because like it or not, when Suzuki retired, I'm pretty sure we were the strongest Japanese manufacturer. In fact, we won two of the last three races.

“So the inline [engine layout], with not so much aerodynamics etc was still able to fight for wins. 

“Of course, Alex [Rins] is a very strong rider. But the bike was pretty good and I think the secret was the relationship between the European technicians in the team and the [design] engineers at home in [Japan].”

The good news for Honda is that a key architect of that ‘special relationship’ was Ken Kawauchi, signed by HRC as its MotoGP technical manager in the aftermath of Suzuki’s exit.

“On this side, Kawauchi-san was doing a good job and that's why when they signed him in Honda, I was hoping to see Honda doing something better, honestly speaking,” Suppo said.

“But he's only been there since Sepang last year, so it's a very short time. 

“And it seems at least that the Valencia test, the 2024 bike, the one that Luca Marini tested for the first time, seems to be a step ahead.

“So maybe the job they have done last season is showing something now.”

Suzuki MotoGP exit ‘not a money related decision’

The exact reasons for Suzuki sudden MotoGP exit remain something of a mystery.

The factory had been World champions with Joan Mir in 2020 and, as of early 2022, had taken five wins (courtesy of Alex Rins 3, Mir 1 and Vinales 1) despite operating on a relatively modest budget.

Suzuki had recently committed to staying in MotoGP until at least 2026, with both Rins and Mir keen to re-sign for 2023.

It was against that backdrop that Suppo joined the factory, which had been without a team manager since Davide Brivio left for F1 at the start of 2021.

But just a few months later came the shock news that Suzuki board members in Japan had decided to pull the MotoGP plug.

“There was nothing [we could do]... Myself, Sahara-san, Ken [Kawauchi] - we tried hard but there was no chance to convince them to remain,” Suppo said.

“Even [proposing] reducing the budget and trying to make things a little bit cheaper, there was no way.

“So, it means that it was not a money related decision.”

Suppo spent second year at Suzuki ‘selling everything’

While rival teams swiftly hired most of Suzuki’s race staff, with Rins and Mir departing for Honda, Suppo was one of the few to remain employed by Suzuki for 2023.

“Last year myself and Roberto Brivio [team coordinator] were involved in trying to sell all the team’s stuff, because for administration reasons everything was related to Suzuki Italy,” Suppo explained.

“The [logistics] workshop was located close to Milan, with all the trucks, the crate and everything.

“Roberto did a great job. We sold basically everything.

“So this unfortunately was my second year in Suzuki. Instead of trying to build something, trying to sell everything!”

Would Suppo, who had stepped away from team manager of Repsol Honda after Marc Marquez’s fourth title at the end of 2017, still have joined Suzuki if he knew it would only be for one year of racing?

“Difficult to say. One of the only conditions I put when I signed with Sahara-san was that a one-year contract was not enough for me,” Suppo replied.

“Also, when I signed for them, Suzuki announced a few months before that they had just renewed their contract with Dorna for five more years.

“So it was very difficult at the beginning of 2022 to predict that after a few months they would have changed their mind.

“Anyway, it's been a great experience. I realised that, like it or not, this is my work. I love MotoGP. Unfortunately, at the moment there's nothing going on, but you never know…”

Of the Suzuki MotoGP management top three, only Ken Kawauchi remains actively involved in the sport with project leader Shinichi Sahara joining Suppo on the sidelines.

“I only worked together with Sahara-san for one year, but I have a lot of respect for him,” Suppo said.

“I know how much he was suffering from the [MotoGP exit] situation and how much passion he had for racing.

“It's really a pity that people like Sahara-san are not involved in MotoGP anymore.”

Mir will be starting his second Repsol Honda season in 2024 with Rins, who broke Honda’s victory drought at COTA last year, returning to the only remaining inline four-cylinder MotoGP machine via a factory seat at Monster Yamaha.