Team Suzuki Ecstar has revealed a fresh look ahead of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship with a predominantly silver and blue design that harks back to the first time it went racing 60 years ago.
Deviating from its familiar blue and yellow hues for 2020, the new design has been crafted in a nod to Suzuki’s motorcycle racing origins dating back to 1960 when it first entered the Isle of Man TT. Two years later Suzuki won its first GP race, with Ernst Degner going on to win the 50cc world title.
Six decades on and Suzuki will look to get close to that feat with Alex Rins - a double winner in 2019 – and Joan Mir, who enters into his second season of MotoGP.
Finishing fourth overall in 2019 with wins at Circuit of The Americas and Silverstone, Rins is setting his sights high in 2020 with regular victory challenges.
“Last season brought me one of the most exciting feelings on earth which was to win my first MotoGP race. It was a dream come true, and the second victory felt amazing too. I will bring those emotions with me into 2020, as well as the awareness of the growth that I’ve made.
“One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is how to better manage a race, especially when I’m leading or fighting. I will carry the special livery for the 60 years in racing and this makes me proud.
“One of the best things about being with Suzuki is that I feel a real family atmosphere, I don’t know if it was also like that in the past, but to me it feels like something they have in the Suzuki DNA, together with constantly striving to win, and I think this really makes a difference.
“Now in 2020 we have to stay focused and get good results, more podiums for sure and hopefully also more wins. This is the path to success, I believe; little by little, step by step, with hard work all together.”
Making his MotoGP debut in 2019, Mir developed into a regular top ten finisher by the conclusion of the season despite losing momentum with an injury midway through the year. The Spaniard is looking to maintain that momentum into his sophomore campaign.
“For sure my expectations for 2020 are much higher than last year, because I’m not a rookie anymore. We ended last season on a good path, with consistent improvements that helped me to overcome the difficulties that came from the crash in Brno and led me to have some very positive races at the end of the season.
“The first year has been a learning one, the MotoGP machine is such a beast that you have to learn how to control it, and I had huge support from all of my team. Now I want to build on my experience and start placing my name among the top riders. I have trained very well during winter, I have focused on physical preparation and also on smoothness in riding, which is one thing that my GSX-RR requires, I think.
“Beside this, I’m really eager to get on my MotoGP machine again in Sepang and start to improve further. It’s going to be an important year for Suzuki and the blue-silver livery looks amazing on my GSX-RR, I’m proud to be part of this historic year and carry such racing heritage on my fairing.”
