The news about Suzuki leaving MotoGP shocked the racing world. His party has announced that it will withdraw after the end of the 2022 season. So what will happen to the two drivers who are quite competitive, Alex Rins and Joan Mir. Both were disappointed by the decision. But there is speculation circulating that the future of the two riders is in the hands of the Honda manufacturer.
Initially both drivers will renew their contracts with Suzuki. However, after the Hamamatsu manufacturer announced it was withdrawing from MotoGP, both Rins and Mir's status 'floated'. Even though both Rins and Mir have the potential to win every series. Financial reasons are said to be the reason the Suzuki factory team decided to leave
Meanwhile Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig has confirmed that the two Spaniards have contacted Honda to discuss future prospects. They had discussions ahead of the Le Mans MotoGP. As in life, compromises have to be made. If Honda took one or both of them, something had to be sacrificed, in other words the other rider would lose his seat.
Pol Espargaro is a racer who is considered at risk of losing his seat. According to reports, Joan Mir is considered to have the potential to occupy the second seat at Honda Repsol. But so far Puig has not explained in detail about the decision to take Mir or Rins. His party stated that whenever a rider wanted to talk, Honda only listened to what they had to say.
"I can't judge whether Mir and Rins also spoke to other manufacturers. All I know is that they contacted us. They wanted to talk, we had some conversations with them. When a rider wants to talk to Honda, Honda always listens. We respect the riders and we have to listen to what they have to say," Puig said in an article published by Speedweek.
Puig further stressed that Honda did not change its strategy just because Suzuki had decided to leave MotoGP. Apart from that Puig was not in the mood to elaborate on any discussions he had with Mir and Rins. The former Grand Prix racer said HRC's strategy of hitting the 'target' would not be influenced by Mir and Rins.
However, there are some opportunities for Rins and Mir from other manufacturers. Maybe Yamaha, KTM and maybe even Aprilia want to sign them. Both have the same opportunity to be competitive again in the coming season. But at this point, most of the riders have not confirmed their contracts for the 2023 season, so the MotoGP rider seat game is far from over.
Not only with Pol Espargaro, Honda can also make changes to the two LCR seats. One of them can involve Ai Ogura who replaces Takaaki Nakagami. Meanwhile, Alex Marquez's future with the Japanese manufacturer is also in doubt.
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