Suzuki has finally officially responded to the rumors that the brand would leave MotoGP at the end of the season. Suzuki confirmed via a short message that it is in talks with Dorna about the possibility of ending the contract at the end of this season.
It is a shame not only for the team and both riders that Suzuki is withdrawing (again), but also for the fans. After all, the brand has written quite a bit of motorsport history. Take the 1981 Daytona now…
Until then, Suzuki had never won the Daytona. With Graeme Crosby and Wes Cooley, the 1979 and 1980 AMA Superbike champions, the brand finally hoped to change that in 1981.
Wester Steven ‘Wes’ Cooley, with the legendary number 34, had already started his medical training when he decided to put everything on his racing career after all. He passed away about six months ago from complications of diabetes, but by then he had long earned his place in the motorsport Hall of Fame.
Crosby was also not the least, with victories in the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours, the Senior TT, the Classic TT and the Formula One TT, and a second place in the final standings of the 500cc World Championship in 1982.
After the two Yoshimura Suzuki riders qualified on pole with identical times, they drove their GS1000s to first and second place, with Wes Cooley crossing the line as the winner.
Suzuki made the promo video below after Daytona, which once again demonstrates the importance of the brand in the history of motorsport. This gem from the eighties may be a bit on the long side, but nevertheless very much worth it. Be sure to wait for the on-board footage and experience Daytona’s banking from behind the mini fairing of the Yoshimura Suzuki GS 1000.
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