WorldSBK 2018: the Grillini team will field two Suzuki GSX-R1000

Titled in 2005 with Troy Corser and vice-champion in 2010 thanks to Leon Haslam, Suzuki will be back in World Superbike in 2018! Or at least its GSX-R1000, since the Hamamatsu factory will not officially support the Grillini team and its two pilots, still unknown to this day….

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, have more RAM than others – remember only the last – and first! – Suzuki’s World Superbike coronation dates back to 2005: then had a thunderous season.

The Australian Croco had climbed 18 podiums in 23 races and had climbed the highest market eight times. Although jostled at the end of the season by his compatriot Chris Vermeulen on Honda and by the Japanese Noriyuki Haga on Yamaha, the Suzuki rider had easily won his second world title.

The following season, Corser and the Alstare team got off to a good start: two victories and four other podiums in eight races … But the fine mechanics then seized up, while the other Troy – Bayliss! -, back from MotoGP, led his Ducati 999 to victory almost every weekend, finally stealing his crown from No.1 Suzuki…

In 2007, the "rookie" Max Biaggi got on the handlebars and with her won his very first World Superbike race in Qatar. It was only in the final at Magny-Cours and at the end of a brilliant season that the Italian "Corsair" and the "full-bodied" Haga (Yamaha) lost the title against Toseland (Honda)…

Passed to Aprilia – and beaten by the dazzling Ben Spies on the official Yamaha – in 2009, the Roman Emperor won in 2010 with the RSV4 Factory. Biaggi is well ahead of his runner-up: the Englishman Leon Haslam who courageously struggled at the controls of a GSX-R1000 in need of development.

Due to lack of support from the Hamamatsu factory, the "Gex" then aligned by Francis Batta and then by Paul Denning cannot compete with the RSV4, ZX-10R, Panigale or R1 which are at the center of a real World Superbike project.

In 2013, the Crescent team offered its last full World Superbike season to the good – but decidedly too old – GSX-R1000. Thanks to Denning and his men, Suzuki finished fourth in the constructors’ standings with 243 points on the clock.

Site takes the opportunity to push a little "cocorico": 230 points are scored by the duo Jules Cluzel and Leon Camier, while the remaining 13 are scored by a certain, titled the same year – and for the eighth time! – in endurance on the SERT GSX-R.

Let us recall that to replace "Kamir" at Magny-Cours, a circuit he knows on the back of his hand … Dominique Meliand’s colt exceeded the hopes of his exceptional employer by finishing 13th and then sixth in the French heats !

Subsequently, the Suzuki won many victories in the endurance world championship. But the curtain has unfortunately been drawn on WorldSBK … Definitely? No, some private teams tried their luck in rare events.

The last attempt was made this year, but the first two races of the all-new GSX-R1000 were disappointing: Swiss rider Dominic Schmitter, by his German HPC-Power Suzuki Racing Superbike team, did not see the flag at checkerboard…

The 2018 season will mark the return of the "Gex" to WSBK. But unlike the last R1 in 2016 or the future Panigale V4 in 2019, the GSX-R1000 will not be officially entered in the competition: two copies will be lined up by the Grillini team … which was actually running Schmitter, in 2016! Is one of the Suz ‘intended for him? Mystery and Pirelli Ball…

The Italian team has just completed five laborious seasons on Kawasaki: its record of points scored (44) dates from 2014 and this season, Badovini and Jezek have only gleaned 22 points. To bounce back in 2018, the Italians – who had briefly collaborated with the young Frenchman – therefore chose to prepare Suzuki.

Titled in MotoAmerica with, victorious in the Tourist Trophy with then in British Superbike with, the new "Gixxer" certainly has excellent potential that just begs to be exploited. It is still necessary to have sufficient financial, logistical and human resources…

The support of the Japanese firm and its engineers – neither bad – would be invaluable to properly develop the bike according to the. But this support is not relevant, as the boss Andrea Grillini explains in his official statement. Case to follow on MNC, stay tuned !

Andrea Grillini, team manager:
"This decision is due to the launch of the new GSX-R1000 on the market. I like the idea of ​​bringing back a motorcycle that has contributed to the history of WorldSBK. It is also an opportunity to work on a new project. although we will do so without the full support of the factory. We retain our status as a private team and we are aware that there will be a lot of work in terms of development on a machine that is not currently present within championship. But we are ready to take on this new challenge. I would also like to thank Kawasaki for their technical support over the years and the professionalism the factory has shown towards all the WorldSBK teams. ".

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