Former Ducati and Honda MotoGP boss Livio Suppo is to return to the sport as the new team manager of the Suzuki Ecstar outfit, it has been confirmed.
The Italian is one of the sport’s most successful managerial figures having overseen Ducati’s rise to World Championship glory with Casey Stoner in 2007, before joining the Australian in making the switch to Repsol Honda in 2011.
There the Suppo-helmed HRC squad won again with Stoner, before the incoming Marc Marquez proceeded to reel off another three championship wins before he departed the Spanish squad, to be replaced by Alberto Puig.
Since then Suppo has remained out of action, instead focusing on personal entrepreneurial endeavours, though he has remained a vocal figure about the current era of the sport, particularly towards Honda’s more recent struggles.
However, Suppo will now get the chance to respond on track as the new manager of the Suzuki team, which has been looking for a full-time replacement since the end of its title-winning 2020 MotoGP season when Davide Brivio departed the team and the sport in favour of a similar role at Alpine in F1.
“I am very proud to become Suzuki Ecstar’s Team Manager and happy to rejoin the MotoGP Championship after four years. I’m also very honoured to be involved in this great project with Suzuki; for sure it will be a challenging task to be part of an historic manufacturer in MotoGP, who recently achieved the crown in 2020 in the year of their 100th anniversary.
“I also feel it will be a great experience to start working with two talented riders like Joan Mir and Alex Rins, both capable of fighting for the top in MotoGP. Sahara-san’s proposal came at the perfect time for me, I had been busy setting up my e-bike company but I was certainly missing the paddock and ready to come back.
“Racing has been my life for almost all my career and I will do my best to bring my experience to Team Suzuki Ecstar. I know they are a great team, but also a great group of humans, so this could help a lot to achieve our goals sooner.
“MotoGP nowadays is more and more exciting, with many very fast riders and competitive motorcycles from all manufacturers. It’s a difficult challenge for everybody involved, where all the small details can make the difference, I am ready to be part of the game again and give my all to be on top with Suzuki.”
The move gives Suppo the rare opportunity to become the first person to manage three different manufacturers to MotoGP World Championship glory.
