MotoGP, we expected more of Suzuki in Qatar

Impressive top speed but (rather) disappointing end results. At the Qatar GP, the Suzuki Ecstar team didn’t exactly reap what it had sown during winter testing and the first Lusail practice sessions. At both Sepang and Mandalika, the GSX-RRs demonstrated real improvement compared to 2021, and this was soon confirmed during the first timed sessions of the 2022 season.

But then came the race, or rather the most important moment of the weekend, in which trophies and points are awarded. If we consider the final result on Sunday, we note that the gap between race winner Enea Bastianini and the team Gresini Ducati – an independent squad – and the best of the Hamamatsu four-cylinders was almost five seconds.

Mir and Rins: limited gap in Qatar, but the podium was out of reach

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To be precise, the 2017 Moto3 champion and the 2020 MotoGP champion finished the race 4.843 seconds apart which, over the course of 22 laps, means a difference of about two tenths per lap.

Up until a few seasons ago, such pace would have seen the chasing rider battling for the win or podium, but this is no longer the case. The circle is extremely tight, and includes all those details that make up the perfect, or almost perfect, performance.

Meanwhile, Alex Rins, seventh, only adds to the concern. The gap between the winner and the number 42 rider was essentially double that of number 36, 8.810 seconds according to the timesheets. And even this result was in part influenced by the Pecco Bagnaia / Jorge Martin crash. The two ducatisti were battling it out in seventh and eighth place when they fell, their double exit from the race to Rins’ advantage but also to his disadvantage, as he was unable to make use of any slipstream.

The GSX-RR will be in the spotlight at Mandalika, a first shot at redemption

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Indonesia will offer the factory Ecstar team a first opportunity to redeem itself. Pre-season testing and the arrival of Livio Suppo are highly relevant in this case, because the data collated at Mandalika and the new helmsman can both be of significant help to Mir and Rins.

In the hope they are not distracted by any market considerations that is, seeing as both their contracts are up for renewal come the end of the season. Joan and Alex have clearly already spoken with the Suzuki managers of course, and also with other manufacturers.

Might it be time to consider a change of team, or is it better to focus on the possibility of achieving the season’s first podium? Only the riders can decide, but one thing is certain – in MotoGP, those who fail to focus on the race and result will fail to reach the front. And we don’t write this simply in response to the seventh and eighth place scored by the GSX-RR in Qatar. This is always and unequivocably the case.

Translated by Heather Watson

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