MotoGP 2009: Biggest under-achievers

In 2007, Suzuki had been the major surprise of the first 800cc campaign, yet had struggled to emulate its impressive form in 2008.

This year though was to be an even bleaker campaign for the Japanese factory and one that saw the GSV-R hammered by rivals Yamaha, Honda and Ducati.

For the first time since 2004, Suzuki failed to score a single podium finish and it was
beaten in the Team World Championship by two independent teams.

The big issue was the GSV-R worked in a narrow window of performance. Top six competitive in hot conditions, it was woefully outclassed in cooler conditions and struggled to make the top ten.

Suzuki also suffered the ignominy of being the only manufacturer to fall foul of new engine restrictions implemented in Brno.

Allocated five engines for the final seven races as part of a raft of credit crunch busting measures, Loris Capirossi had used all of his come the race in Phillip Island as the pursuit of performance hit reliability. He started from the back of the grid and Suzuki was docked 10-points in the Team Championship, which cost it fifth to the San Carlo Honda Gresini squad.