MotoGP | Exclusive: Livio Suppo, "Stoner reminds me of Agassi, Rossi deserved more respect, Marquez a phenomenon"

MotoGP Motorcycle World Championship 2020 Coronavirus – We exclusively interviewed Livio Suppo, former Team Manager of Ducati and Honda MotoGP, companies with which he won world titles, first with Casey Stoner (Ducati and Honda) and then with Marc Marquez (Honda).

Since he left the MotoGP (end of 2017) Suppo, from Turin, 54 years old, with a degree in economics, has been following the e-bike sector with the Thok E-Bikes company.

In particular, he follows the internationalization of the brand and is the architect of the agreement with Ducati. In practice, the company produces bicycles under license for Ducati and sells them throughout Europe.

With Suppo, a great connoisseur of the paddock, we spoke above all about MotoGP, addressing many topics, from the stop due to the pandemic and the consequent economic losses, then passing through the great champions, from Casey Stoner to Valentino Rossi, obviously also talking about Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez , but also of Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales, Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati.

Livio Suppo Thok E-Bikes declarations

“Since I decided to stop racing, I've thrown myself into this adventure of electric bikes and I'm in charge of the internationalization of the brand. There is an agreement with Ducati, we practically make the bikes under license for them and sell them throughout Europe. I'm very happy with how this new adventure is going, it's still two wheels, but everything is different and new, it's all very stimulating.”

Livio Suppo MotoGP 2020 Statements Coronavirus Pandemic

“Carmelo (Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna, the company that manages both the MotoGP and Superbike championships, ed.) is a very smart person, but here, beyond any managerial skills, it will be very difficult to manage everything. The situation is such that the idea of ​​bringing together at least a thousand people and having them arrive in different countries and have them travel around the world seems really distant today, because we are now in late April and there is it is still most countries with a difficult situation. It will be a "Mission Impossible" we all hope that this situation will pass, especially because we would return to normality."

Statements by Livio Suppo MotoGP 2020 Coronavirus pandemic economic consequences

“Certainly this year, as it seems to me to be doing, Dorna will have to help the teams, especially those in the Moto3 and Moto2 classes, where Dorna's contribution is lower. It is clear that at the moment you spend less money by not racing, but it is true that there are a series of fixed costs that must be paid, for example the salaries of employees. Hopefully this pandemic will pass soon, so that the teams can survive, otherwise there would be the possibility of making the World Cup but very few players. I imagine that even for companies like Ducati, with which I worked, it is hard, not only are they not racing, but they are not producing and selling motorbikes. This will have serious economic consequences on the balance sheets of companies, especially those stuck in Europe such as Ducati, Aprilia and KTM. This crisis will certainly also have repercussions on the management of the 2021 MotoGP.”

Livio Suppo MotoGP statements possible races without spectators

“You could have races without an audience, if you think about Qatar there is only the grandstand with spectators. As regards the proceeds from the racetracks, Dorna could ask for a lower "fee". It wouldn't be nice to race behind closed doors, but in the end it would be the lesser of evils."

Statements Livio Suppo Casey Stoner character

“Casey the man is very similar to what he appears when you know him publicly, a very shy boy with a closed character. The only thing he liked was running, everything else didn't interest him. He stopped at 27 even though he was still very competitive, he is one of the best talents who have been in MotoGP. I don't know if you have read Agassi's book "Open", well, I find many similarities, Agassi also had an extraordinary talent but he lived a bit like Casey. Both have extraordinary talent, but they didn't experience it with the joy and carefreeness that Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez show, for example."

Statements Livio Suppo Casey Stoner arriving at Ducati

“We had talked with the father about ending the previous year in 2005, but at the time we thought an experienced driver was needed and Gibernau was chosen. Stoner finally arrived in 2007 and my real regret was not closing in 2006.”

Statements Livio Suppo Casey Stoner arrival at Honda and retirement

“We knew Casey wouldn't race for long, but we didn't expect him to retire so soon. We tried to convince him, but then we respected his choice. We lost a Super Champion and another one arrived, Marc Marquez.”

Statements Livio Suppo Marc Marquez, a real problem for all the other riders

Statements Livio Suppo Casey Stoner Vs Marc Marquez

“In terms of pure speed, Stoner would compete with Marc, but the latter suffers less from pressure, is more complete, has a very positive character and is better able to overcome difficult moments.”

Statements by Livio Suppo MotoGP Rider Market risky choices?

“In the past it happened that contracts were signed very quickly, for example when Marquez arrived at Honda we signed at the beginning of the season. However, what was once an exception is now almost a rule, in my opinion even a little dangerous, because you sign a contract with the driver especially if you don't know him, without even having seen how the season will go."

Livio Suppo Statements MotoGP Rider Market Marc Marquez renewal until 2024

“Marquez's renewal is not usual, but Honda had no doubts in keeping him and I understand this decision very well. I understand less about the single year contract given to Alex Marquez, usually a rookie is evaluated over multiple seasons. Many criticized Honda's choice, but once Lorenzo retired it was the most logical choice, aside from his surname he is still a two-time World Champion."

Statements Livio Suppo MotoGP Riders Market renewal of Yamaha Vinales and hiring of Fabio Quartararo

“It's a bit like what we were talking about before, there's always this desire to always do everything quickly, I would have waited for the start of the season, which didn't happen due to coronavirus, and this applies to both Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi. Vinales is very strong but he is not constant, he has always had mixed results, he alternates crazy races with colorless races. I understand Fabio Quartararo's choice more, he is the emerging talent and has great potential."

Statements Livio Suppo Valentino Rossi treatment by Yamaha

“I think Valentino deserves more respect, if only for the fact that we're talking about MotoGP anyway and I would have waited a bit before “putting him down”. Now there is also this forced stop, it will be up to him whether he wants to continue racing or not."

Livio Suppo Ducati statements, rider problem?

“If there is a rider problem in Ducati, there is also a problem in all the other teams. The real problem for everyone is called Marc Marquez! In my opinion in Italy we are always very good at criticizing and not very good at praising the work done. Suffice it to say that Ducati is a much smaller manufacturer than all its other competitors, including KTM, and has come second in the world championship for three years in a row. Yamaha hasn't won a world championship since 2015 and before then there were great dominators. There was the Doohan era, then that of Valentino Rossi and now there is Marc Marquez. In the past there have often been dominators, only when Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner all raced together was there more balance.”

Statements Livio Suppo Ducati Dall'Igna

“To this day, there are still people in Ducati that I had on my team. The Eng. Dall'Igna was good at directing the company in the right direction. A company that had already done well with Filippo Preziosi, but which then got a little lost. Dall'Igna managed to get everyone back on track and achieve absolutely excellent results.”

Statements Livio Suppo Return of Jorge Lorenzo to Honda and engagement as Yamaha tester

“Jorge's (Lorenzo, ed.) behavior was quite strange and I'm surprised that Honda didn't put any clause to prevent him from going to the competition. Jorge was certainly not consistent with the choices made shortly before.”