(Motorsport) Suzuki have officially announced their departure at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with promoters Dorna. Reports first emerged in May that the Japanese manufacturer was exploring an exit with team members being asked to look for new jobs. This means that Yoshimura SERT, the reigning Endurance World Championship winning team will be shutting down as well. 

A statement released by Suzuki said “Suzuki has decided to end the participation of MotoGP and EWC in the face of the need to re-allocate resources on other initiatives for sustainability. Motorcycle racing has always been a challenging place for technological innovation, including sustainability, and human resource development. This decision means that we will take on the challenge to build the new motorcycle business operation by redirecting the technological capabilities and human resources we have cultivated through the motorcycle racing activities to investigate other routes for a sustainable society.”

The decision to leave MotoGP is said to be due to an internal power struggle within the Suzuki board in Japan with the pro-racing faction losing out. The team have been negotiating a complicated leaving agreement with Dorna Sports since then, resulting in a gap between the time they informed their team and officially announcing their departure. Suzuki had signed a new contract last year until 2026 and the negotiations have been regarding the financial penalty the Japanese manufacturer will incur for breaching the contract terms. 

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