JOAN MIR BLOG Team Suzuki Press Office – December 14 2021

After the glory of a MotoGP crown, anything less was always going to seem below-par for Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir, but the Mallorcan fought back to a top-three title finish and learned lessons on the way.

“The time has finally come to shut off from the racing world a little bit and try to relax! It’s something I find hard to do because I’m the type of person who is always active and wanting to do things. But this year I learned the importance of balancing the stress of racing with the need to stay calm and take time out.

“The truth is these moments of relaxation will be part of my preparation for 2022 and it’s just as important as training in the gym. I’ll take a couple of weeks just to enjoy the things I’m lucky to have, and then I’ll switch my attention to jumping on a bike! Until I can be reunited with my GSX-RR I’ll be training with the Supermoto and MX bikes, and even driving a kart – those things all help a lot with my technique and skills; I learn something every time, and they also contribute to keeping my fitness at a prime level.

“In general I feel like I picked up lots of useful things this year, for example one key thing was just to fight.”

To read the full Blog in the latest Winter Issue of Team Suzuki Racing Magazine: CLICK HERE

For more stories about Joan Mir, Click Here.
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ALEX RINS BLOG Team Suzuki Press Office – December 15 2021.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins reflects on a mixed season which saw him struggle to perform at his optimum level but gave him plenty of food for thought.

“2021 is almost over! In racing terms, of course, we’ve already finished everything. Although after the end of the season and the test in Jerez we went to visit EICMA in Milan, but now it’s time to be at home with my family and enjoying a bit of rest.

“It’s quite strange to look back at this year, because in many ways it has gone quickly, but it has also been a very long and tricky season. There are some things that I would like to forget, like the crashes and especially the string of four DNFs in a row that I had. It was hard for me because I was trying at my maximum in every race and it just kept resulting in crashes. But I don’t see this as a completely bad thing, because in reality I learned a lot from those struggles, I had to deal with those disappointments and that pressure, and so I can say that at least I learned from the bad moments.

“As a team we all worked together, and I felt the support of my crew. My goal was to be more consistent, and we all collaborated to figure out how to make that happen. Next season we want to pull everything we learned together and make it pay.”

To read the full Blog on the latest Winter issue of Team Suzuki Racing Magazine: CLICK HERE

For more stories about Alex Rins, Click Here.
For more photos, Click Here.

SHINICHI SAHARA BLOG Team Suzuki Press Office – December 17 2021.

In his 2021 blog, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Team Director and Project Leader Shinichi Sahara talks the highs and lows of taking on a last-minute job role, and everything it taught him.

“We’re at the end of a long and demanding season and I would say that, despite not getting quite the results we were hoping for, the year was around 60-70% what I expected.

“2021 was different for all of us, coming off the back of winning the title, and Davide Brivio leaving, we all had to step up and find the way forward. I had previously been the Team Director, mainly managing things from the factory in Japan, but in 2021, I took on a new role as Team Manager and Project Leader. This workload, coupled with still being the Group Leader in the development department in Japan, was way too much. But on the other hand, I learnt a lot, and being at the race tracks more has given me a unique insight that I didn’t have in previous years; I’m able to notice every detail on the GSX-RR and how it behaves on the track.

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“Last year I was only at one track – Portimão for the season finale – and I wish I had been at more races to check how it was all going, because I wasn’t able to get a true understanding of our 2020 machine. When we started this season I couldn’t really compare the two bikes.

“In that same vein, attending all the races this year will be beneficial for next year, I think. I am really familiar with our bike now. Attending all the races hasn’t only been beneficial from the technical side, but also from the human management side of things. I have communicated with many people in the paddock in 2021, much more than before. Of course I already knew most of them but having direct communication with them face-to-face allowed us to get to know each other better than via emails or video meetings.

“Even within our own team, I have become much more familiar with all the work that each team member does. This has been most evident with the marketing department. I don’t think I really appreciated the complexities of their job until now! They are very creative and always pushing, they are constantly coming up with new ideas, not just every week but seemingly every hour! This side of our project was new to me; marketing, commercial and sponsorship – it’s a huge responsibility and I learnt a lot from the deep end! “

To read the full Shinichi Sahara Blog on the Winter issue of Team Suzuki Racing Magazine: CLICK HERE