Announced as Suzuki's new MotoGP team manager in the short break between the Mandalika test and this weekend's Qatar season-opener, Livio Suppo met with the media on Thursday to talk in detail about his return to the pa꧃ddock.

The Italian, 57, oversaw M⛎otoGP titles for both Ducati a🅺nd Honda before leaving the sport at the end of 2017.

Suppo now makes a comeback with Suzuki, who lost previous team manager Davide Brivio to F1 shortly after winning the 2020 title with Joan Mir, then suffered a winless 2021 be🔯fore going in pursuit of a replacement.

Brivio himself was long rumoured to be in conten꧋tion to return, but when he was reconfirmed with Alpine, Suzuki project leader Shinichi Sahara quickly concluded a deal with Suppo.

"I told Sahara-san, I think if there is any chance of Davide coming back, I respect the job he has done with this team," Suppo said. "Because they started fro♉m zero when Suzuki re-joined Moto🦹GP and Davide did everything. Then winning the title in 2020.

"I think it was fair to say if Davide was in the game, I don’t want to be in the game because I have respect f💎or what Davide has done.

"Then suddenly tw🎐o weeks ago Sahara-san called me and said 'so, we are ready to speak'. Then I realised that something happened, I said 'send me a proposal 'and the day after I replied saying 'we have a deal'. It didn't꧂ take too much to think about. I was excited.

"The team is there, the bike is ther𓆉e, the riders are there. The atmosphere is very good and I think again this is thanks to the job that Davide has done. So my target is to try and keep at least this level of harmony and see if there is something in my experience I can bring to the team🔥.

"I've known Sahara-san for a long time, even before Suzuki left MotoGP after the 800 era, because he was there in the MSMA when I was in🐈 Ducati. So I know a little bit his character. I know very well Manuel Cazeaux, the chief technician of Alex Rins, because we worked together in Ducati and had a good relationship with him and I trust him, I know he's a guy I like a lot.

ꦬ"The details make a difference. It won't be a revolution. It's not that because I'm here Suzuki will instantly be s🐻tronger. It's impossible. But hopefully it will be easier for everybody to work in Suzuki. This is my target."

Suppo on Suzuki riders Joan Mir and Alex Rins:

"I've always been lucky in my career in MotoGP because I've always worked with super strong riders siꦆnce the beginning with Troy and Loris at Ducati. I think Joan and Alex are🐼 two of the strongest riders out there.

"The machi🐠ne is also good for sure. They won the title two years ago and without the crash for Alex at 🎃Jerez probably could have been possible to do a one-two for Suzuki in 2020.

"As I tꦫhink Sahara-san said, when you have tw🌼o strong riders like Joan and Alex the priority is to keep them on board, because it's not easy to replace them.

"But on the other side, maybe this is because I'm getting older, if the ꧙MotoGP paddock could come back to what we did 15-20 years ago and wait until a little bi♉t longer in the season to take any decisions this could be good for the sport.

"I should be the last one to say this because I did a move back in 2010, for 2011 with 𝓡Casey [to move from Ducati to Honda🅷] in Jerez. So I should shut up!

"But🍷 honestly speaking I think it also depends on the condition. For example I totally understand why Ducati wanted to renew Pecco because they are happy and if you feel if you renew now you give him a good feeling for the future, it's okay. And it could be the same for us𝔉, why not.

"But on the other side I think for the team, company and ride꧙rs to wait a few more ra🐈ces is always better in my opinion."

Suppo on Suzuki, Ducati and Honda:

"The first feeling is that Suzuki is kind of a compromise between💜 Ducati and Honda, the two teams I've been working with. Japꦡanese but with a lot of Italian attitude. The first feeling is a very good compromise between a full Italian company and full Japanese company like Honda."

Suppo on working with a smaller budget than at Honda, Ducati:

"I think one of the best moves by Dorna in the last 20 years has been to be able to change the rules step-by-step to reduce the costs. Dorna and MSMA together. And for example the fact that𝔍 the displacement is the same since 2012🐭, 1000cc, is a big help for cost reduction.

"The fact that now you cannot spend a lot of money on electronics because you have the single software is again a good point. So I think budget wise, from a technical point of view, I think 💜Suzuki has the resources to build a very g🧜ood bike as it's proven in the last few years.

"Rider wise, I think the Suzuki budget is enough to do a good job - again it's proven. And on the other side if you look at Ducati I think the last riders the budget was probably less🧜 than one rider of Ducati the year before and still the results were very good.

"Also as was proven with Filippo [Prezioso] in 2007, probably in F1 the one wi♏th a lot more money has a lot more possibility to win. In MotoGP, thank God, it's still not like that because anything can happen an𒅌d there is such a small gap between a lot of riders.

"The level of the riders and machines is very close, which means a big company like Honda or the smallest budget as far as I'm concerned frꦇom outside should be Aprilia, they still can be competitive and this us very good for the sport."

Suppo on a satellite Suzuki team:

"I still need to speak to Sahara-san about this. I think since many years Carmelo's idea was to have six manufacturers with four bikes each. To do that you need six manufacturers that are 💦ready to provide😼 bikes and they need to be competitive.

"If you asked a satellite team three years ago to race with a not competitive manufactur🙈er, it is very difficult. I think nowadays we are in a technical situation where it is more possible to do."

Suppo on eight Ducatis:

"First of all we n꧒eed to be happy that we have 24 bikes that are more-or-less a🐟ll competitive. Because a one-year-old competitive machine remains a competitive machine.

"In my opinion for a rookie or a young rider sometimes it's better to have a machine that is already developed, 🐎especially at the beginning of a season where the gap is smaller and you might even feel better [on the old bike].

"I think technical speaking we are in a condi꧃tion where it should be possible to have more mixed bikes.

"But anyway eight Ducatis on track, of course the top speed oꦦf Ducati is very strong and the riders are worried about that. Because if you have a problem qualifying, start behind and there are a lot of Ducatis in front, it's very ﷽difficult.

"On the other side, I think it's better to have eight Ducatis than too many machines that a🦩re not competitive."

Suppo on controlling MotoGP bike performance:

"I think we need to find a compromise to reduc🌱e the performance. Because if you look when MotoGP was born, exactly 20 years ago in 200🍃2, Ducati joined in 2003, if I think about that actual machine the [performance] gap is huge.

"That's normal because it's been 20 years of evolution. But the circuits are the same and you cannot pretend to 🔯have more run-off than now.

"One-second a lap slower, if it is for everybody, is not a problem for the show. So I think the evolution of the sport must keep in consideration a kind of gap for the pur𓂃e performance, 🅠this is my personal opinion."

Suppo on how his arrival will help Sahara:

"Sahara-san is an engineer. As far as I understood last ye𒉰ar the development of the new [ride height] system was a li🎶ttle bit slow. I believe that with Sahara-san who can maybe now spend more time in the office it can speed up the process of developing the bike. I hope."

Suppo on connecting a MotoGP race team with the factory:

"This kind of job is not only for a Japanese company because I well remember when I was in Ducati I was anyway a kind of link between Filippo Preziosi that at th🐷at time was the technical director of Ducati and because of his physical condition was n🐼ot able to come to all the races.

"I'm not an engineer, but if you live with the team and you go back to the office or are in contac✤t with the technical direct🐭or, it is part of the job of the team manager to try to explain what is the problem.

"For a chief engineer on track at Ducati, Filippo was the big boss because he was the technical director of🦩 Ducati. For me, Filippo was my boss but I'm an engineer so I feel less like I can't tell him something. I think this is a part of the job that is important too."

Suppo on contract length:

"How many years? Enough. Let's say it's not a one-year contract anyway because I think when you start in a 🍌job like this one year is not enough.

"We didn’t speak last year because Sahara💛-san wanted to try one year without a team manager."

Suppo on keeping his straight-talking style:

"Honestly, I've never really b𒈔een not politically correct. Sometimes if I think something I say it. The biggest problem I have is if I don’t like something you can read in my face. It's a minus but could also be a plus. Because at least you know what you have in front of you. I'm 57 now, I don’t think I will change my character now, sorry!"

Suppo on why Suzuki waiting a year to replace Brivio was better:

"Probably it has been a good decision because if I joined immediately after Davide left it probably wouldn't have been the same for me or the team. So maybe one season without a team manager is good to do a n❀ext step.

"The team can run even w📖ithout a team manager, but with a good team manager the team can run 🌃better… I think Suzuki realised last year that they missed a team manager and that's why I think after one year is better for everybody.

"I think like this🙈 is more c♐lear that Davide's style was that one, without Davide was more difficult and now see what happens with this not politically correct guy!"