Engine issues tarnished Suzuki image

Suzuki’s failure to comply with new cost-saving engine restrictions reflected badly on the Japanese factory, according to a senior race boss.

In a bid to cut costs by saving engine mileage for 2010, each rider was limited to just six engines for the entire 18-round season.

But Suzuki was beset by reliability problems and was given special dispensation to increase its allocation to nine without incurring any penalties.

Each time a rider used a new engine over his initial allocation of six, he should have started a race from pitlane.

That should have applied to Spanish rookie Alvaro Bautista after he used a seventh factory GSV-R engine in second practice at the Twin Ring Motegi race in Japan back in early October.

He escaped punishment though after an agreement made in August gave Suzuki permission to use three extra engines for Bautista and Loris Capirossi.

Senior boss Shinichi Sahara told MCN: “The regulation change allowed Suzuki to have more engines and that was for some emergency.

“Sure it is some negative image for Suzuki and I am sorry we used more than six engines. I thought it was possible we wouldn’t need this.”