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MotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez Test

They say that information is power. But you also have to be sure that the information you've gathered is correct. In an age when fake news spread like wildfire across the internet, you need to always double-check your sources before categorizing them as facts. Sometimes, people spread rumors to serve their interests, without having any kind of solid foundation. But rumors can also turn out to be true.
MotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez Test 10 photos
Photo: www.suzuki-racing.com
MotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez TestMotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez Test
For the past 24 hours, a disturbing piece of information has spread across social media. Reportedly, MotoGP has a live TV audience of over 400 million people each year. In comparison, Formula 1 has an average of almost 10% more people watching.

But either way, these are two of the most popular forms of motorsport on the planet, alongside the World Rally Championship. So people are bound to get excited or anxious when a major event is rumored to happen in the close future.

Rumor has it that Suzuki will be withdrawing from MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season. There you have it. Learning that one of the main players in the series might make such a move is shocking, to say the least. Suzuki has had a works team in the World Championship since 1974, at a time when riders were still on 500cc motorcycles.

Alas, if you've been actively following the series in the past decade, you might be less surprised to hear this rumor. Back in 2011, Suzuki decided to make the same move, considering the difficult global economic context at the time.

MotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez Test
Photo: www.suzuki-racing.com
But the factory decided to make a comeback starting with the 2015 season of MotoGP, and Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales were brought on board. Alex Rins joined the squad in 2017, while Joan Mir was drafted two years later, in 2019.

In the same year that the global pandemic started, Joan Mir managed to become World Champion, riding the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR. This was the first time a Suzuki rider had gone so far since Kenny Roberts Jr. achieved the same performance back in 2000.

Even more so, 2020 marked Suzuki's first-ever Team Title in MotoGP, as Alex Rins was third overall in the championship. In 2021, neither of the two riders managed to score any further victories, but Joan Mir still finished third, 70 points behind the newly crowned champion: Fabio Quartararo.

Six races into the 2022 season, Alex Rins is in fourth place with two podiums, tied for points with Enea Bastianini. Joan Mir is down in sixth, with no podiums so far. He is also tied for points, but with Francesco Bagnaia.

MotoGP Might Lose an Important Factory Team in 2022, Rumors Spread After Jerez Test
Photo: www.suzuki-racing.com
Right now, Team Suzuki Ecstar is in the lead with 125 points, with Aprilia Racing sitting in second place, and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP in third. But in the constructor's rankings, Suzuki isn't doing so well.

With a total of 80 points, it's still in front of KTM and Honda, but behind Aprilia, Yamaha and Ducati. Still, a rumor is just a rumor, right? Well, things seem to be slightly more complicated than that, as the governing body of MotoGP, Dorna, has just issued a press release on the matter too.

It seems that the contract between Dorna and Suzuki states that such an abrupt decision can not be taken unilaterally. So if Suzuki does decide on pulling out of the World Championship, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer might even have to pay a penalty.

Still, Dorna assured the fans that in the event of such a move, there are plenty of other teams and manufacturers looking to join the grid from 2023. We'll report more on the topic as soon as the situation becomes clearer.
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About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
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