MotoGP organisers Dorna have released a statement on Tuesday afternoon revealing it has “reminded” Suzuki of its obligations to race in the series until 2026.
Rumours have been doing the rounds since Monday following the Spanish Grand Prix that Suzuki had informed its MotoGP team members that it would pull out from the championship at the end of the current season, despite having signed a contract with Dorna last year that promised it would remain competing in the series until at least 2026.
The Spanish organisation has since released a statement regarding the rumours over Suzuki’s supposed imminent departure, affirming that it has “reminded” the Japanese manufacturer that its potential decision to quit cannot be made “unilaterally” as a result of the contract between the two parties.
Dorna also confirmed that it has received “interest” from “official factories and independent teams” in the wake of the Suzuki dialogue, but hinted that before any potential entry process could take place a deal would need to be struck with Suzuki before it could confirm its withdrawal.
“Following recent rumours of Suzuki departing MotoGP™ at the end of 2022, Dorna Sports has officially contacted the factory in order to remind them that the conditions of their contract to race in MotoGP™ do not allow for them to take this decision unilaterally,” began the statement from Dorna.
“However, should Suzuki depart following an agreement between both parties, Dorna will decide on the ideal number of riders and teams racing in the MotoGP™ class from 2023.
“Dorna continues to receive high levels of interest from a number of both official factories and Independent Teams looking to join the MotoGP™ grid as the sport continues to set a global example of close competition, innovation and entertainment, reaching hundreds of millions of fans around the world.
“Interest from these parties has been re-confirmed in the past 24 hours.”
Suzuki has yet to publically comment on either the rumours of its impending exit, or regarding the statement from Dorna Sports.
