During Autolook Week, in which he was presented with a “Hall of Fame MotoGP Award” together with other Suzuki greats and put on a show aboard the 500 two-stroke, we exchanged a few words with Marco Lucchinelli. The 1981 world champion, who always speaks his mind, offered his views on the current world championship season before also touching on his own return to the saddle.

Lucchinelli: “I don’t understand Suzuki’s decision”

One of the year’s most shocking headlines relates to the factory Suzuki team and its decision to withdraw at the end of the season. Something that “Lucky” struggles to comprehend: “I don’t understand the reasoning behind this choice. It’s right to focus on production bikes, but this isn’t the first time Suzuki has withdrawn from a major world championship and I think it’s a mistake.”

“They won the world championship two years ago, have never had such a competitive bike as the GSX-RR and they're pulling out? In my opinion, this was the ideal time to invest and focus on one of the two riders to continue to win and be fast”, continues Marco. “They made the same move in Superbike a few years back, but I hope this proves to the right decision for the future of the brand.”

“It seems they’re doing all they can to have Bagnaia win”

There is then talk of the current championship, where Quartararo leads but Bagnaia continues to close in: “It’s a great championship this year and I hope it’s won by the rider who deserves it, thanks only to their potential and technical package, without team orders or anything like that. It seems like they’re doing everything - I won’t say who - to have Bagnaia win, but I hope that he and Fabio can battle it out on equal terms until the end of the year.”

Lastly, Lucchinelli tells us about his experience of the Moto Guzzi Fast Endurance, which saw him race at Mugello: “It was something really different, but a lot of fun too. Riding a bike with as little power as the Guzzi V7, Mugello is like another track entirely, but to be competitive you need to be brave, because it’s not easy to tackle the Arrabbiate turns, throttle wide open, and then brake just a few metres from the turn and let the bike run. I liked it, it was an experience I’d like to repeat in the future”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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