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The Race’s sources within the Suzuki MotoGP team have confirmed the bombshell news that the 2020 world championship-winning team will withdraw from the series at the end of the year, leaving both Joan Mir and Alex Rins without a ride, the premier class short one manufacturer and dozens of staff unemployed.

The incredible news has come from absolutely nowhere, with new team principal Livio Suppo (hired only a few months ago) speaking to The Race only days ago at the Portuguese Grand Prix about his desire to retain both riders for next season and beyond.

The news was broken to the team’s staff during testing today at Jerez, with the stunning news coming from completely out of the blue after a decision made at headquarters in Japan that seems to have had zero input from the team.

It’s not the first time that Suzuki (one of the lowest-budget teams on the grid) has taken similar action, dramatically quitting only at the final round of 2011 after having already signed riders for the following year. That time a result of the global financial crisis, it’s possible that this decision has again been triggered by similar issues surrounding the COVID pandemic.

The team announced only last April that it had signed a new contract with MotoGP series promoters Dorna to remain a part of the championship until at least 2026, expressing a long term commitment to the sport that few at the time doubted given it had just come off the back of a highly-successful 2020 season that saw Mir lift the title.

His future, and that of team-mate Alex Rins, is now perhaps the most pertinent question, with Suzuki’s decision blowing the 2023 rider market wide apart. With Suzuki seemingly keen to keep both riders, it was believed that there wouldn’t be too much movement on that front – but now, with both free agents on the market, it means that many teams will be reconsidering their options.

While the news is yet to be officially announced, it’s believed that a press release will be issued confirming it some time on Tuesday morning

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On Monday evening Motorsport.com revealed Suzuki is set to quit MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season in a shock decision made by the Japanese marque, which was communicated to the team during the post-race test at Jerez.  

Suzuki was expected to make an official announcement of its exit this morning, but so far this has not been forthcoming.  

This could be as a result of MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports' statement it released on Tuesday afternoon, where it said Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP cannot be made on its own.  

Suzuki, like all other manufacturers, is currently contacted to Dorna to compete in MotoGP through to the end of 2026 having signed a new five-year deal which began this year.  

In the same statement, Dorna says it will decide on what the grid size will be for 2023 should Suzuki in fact quit in agreeance with Dorna, and says there is "high levels" of interest from outfits looking to join the grid, which includes "official factories". 

The full statement read: "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. 

"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." 

At present, it is not clear what outside teams have expressed interest in joining the grid, though it has been known in the past that Leopard Racing has been interested in a step to MotoGP.

The grid is currently capped at 24 bikes, with Dorna ideally keen to have six manufacturers fielding four machines each, though at present Ducati supplies eight, Yamaha, Honda and KTM have four, while Suzuki and Aprilia has just two.