MotoGP Interview: Livio Suppo

Finally the MotoGP season has started, giving all the fans a thrilling first race that saw the reigning world champion Valentino Rossi take a superb victory.

Unfortunately, Casey Stoner was out of the race on the 6th lap and this truly affected the race since the fantastic and uber-(can we say this?)-fast Australian widely dominated the entire week end until that moment.

The rest of the podium was filled via a great performance from Jorge Lorenzo, who took the second place, and the Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso, who was able to take the third place by only 0.011 seconds from American Nicky Hayden. After the race we talked a bit with Livio Suppo, the man who left Ducati to join Honda (HRC) this season.

Let’s start from the Qatar race and the great ride from Andrea Dovizioso, what are your feelings on that?

Livio Suppo: It was a really great performance from Dovi, fantastic. We all know his potential and he did a big step forward from the end of last season. He was not that far from the winner in the end (Editor’s note: just 1″865) and his feeling with the bike has improved a lot.

After so many years in the Ducati squad, how was your first race with the Honda HRC?

Livio Suppo: I spent many years with Ducati and of course that will be part of my memories. During the weekend Casey had an incredible pace and dominated all the practices. In the race he did a mistake but as you know it happens. I was very happy to see Nicky challenging for the third place and the fight with Dovi was one of the best moments of the race. I just can say that I’m happy for Filippo Preziosi as well since they achieved their goal because now the bike can suit different riders.

Let’s talk about the new RC212V, a completely different bike that riders still need to understand since it’s giving some hard times to people like Dani Pedrosa and Marco Melandri. What do you think about this?

Livio Suppo: I totally agree, it’s a different new bike and the riders have to adapt to it and try the way to get faster times. Andrea Dovizioso and Randy De Puniet made an excellent job so far and we truly believe in the talent of the other riders, I’m sure that they’ll find their ways out.

Exactly, Dani Pedrosa made an excellent start as always but struggled to have a good pace in the race. We expect to see him up front really soon.

Livio Suppo: Absolutely, Dani is a very fast rider indeed. Thankfully, in this sport riders make a huge difference on their performances even though the new bikes need an excellent setting job. Probably, this is the main thing at the moment so our riders need some time in order to have their settings done correctly.

Adapting to the bike seems like the key for the riders and from this season we also have Ben Spies in the series, a talented rider that can easily adapt his style to new rides.

Livio Suppo: Yes, I agree that Ben is a pure talent. He is a bit more experienced then the other rookies but he did well even in the first race. As I said, you need to adapt to the bike you are riding and even if the Yamaha is a great bike so far it’s the rider that needs to ride it properly.

Private teams are struggling to find the best set up as well, like the Gresini team. Marco Simoncelli managed to make a good race after all the problems in the pre-season tests while Marco Melandri is still facing some issues on the new bike.

Livio Suppo: All the bike are the same, privateers and factory rider has the same package and we have seen that in the Qatar race. Every rider needs to find the right set up for the bike and we have no doubts on both Marco’s talent. I worked with Melandri in the past and if I can share some advice with him I’d say to try as hard as he can and be determined to get faster and stay up front.

This seems to be a crucial season, because a lot of contracts will end this season. Is it true that you are thinking about bringing Casey Stoner back to Honda?

Livio Suppo: Well, we can count on two of the most fast and talented riders out there; we are very happy with them. It’s true that by the end of the season we could have some interesting scenarios but it is really too soon to talk about it.

Qatar was also the very first race of the Moto2 series. It was very spectacular, what do you think about it since all the bikes are powered by Honda’s engines?

Livio Suppo: Fantastic first race, we are just at the beginning but we all have great expectations for it. All the teams have just a few tests, they need some time to get the best set ups. For sure we cannot refer to the 250 timing all the time, these are completely different machines.

Maybe 40 bikes are a bit too much but that is also the nice part of the game. In fact, the goal is to get competitive packages for all the riders without being too expensive for the teams. The real strength of the Moto2 is that can be a series that is 100% international, where you can find riders from all over the world and promote our sport in some areas that would have been impossible to reach. If it will be successful, it could be a model even for the MotoGP.

What about your new role in HRC? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your job?

Livio Suppo: Well, I really just started and for now I’m just trying to get all the information needed and learn as much as I can. From a fan point of view, working for the Honda HRC is a like a dream coming true and of course is a great honor. I’ll try to do my best, I really hope to get the job done well. Their working methods are different from Ducati’s, mostly due to the factory dimensions. It’s a very stimulating job and I love it.

Thanks a lot Livio for your time, Good luck for your role and the season!

Livio Suppo: Thanks a lot to you too, have a good one.