Those of you old enough to remember the Suzuki K5 probably long for Suzuki to be back leading the superbike pack once more, or at least somewhat in contention. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer has dropped out of MotoGP twice in the last 15 years and no longer competes in World Superbike WSBK.
It's a sad, verging on impossible time, to be a Suzuki motorcycle racing fan, but there's some hope.
Team Suzuki CN Challenge started last year for the Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance race and consists of Suzuki employees and a GSX-R1000R. But what makes this team extra special, apart from the fact we get to see a GSX-R1000R racing at the highest levels, is that the bike runs on sustainable fuel and uses sustainable items.
Using sustainable fuel is essentially a handicap when you're racing against bikes that don't use it. Even so, Team Suzuki CN Challenge managed a very respectable 8th place overall in last year's race. But for 2025, the team is taking its sustainable ethos a step further, much further.
In 2024's race, the bike ran on 40% bio-derived fuel, but this year, the team will use 100% sustainable fuel and add more sustainable parts to the motorcycle's equipment. Not content with just making the project more sustainable, the team stated that they want to, "challenge themselves to improve on last year's result of eighth place overall." And it just gets better from there.
The bike is running on an all-new engine and has completely redesigned winglets. How exactly the engine has been redesigned is unclear, but considering it's using 100% sustainable fuel, it's hardly surprising. What is somewhat surprising, however, is that Suzuki has said it will use the technical feedback from the sustainable technology for future products.
I'm not trying to say that Suzuki is prepping to re-enter MotoGP, but it's interesting to note that one of the regulatory changes for MotoGP in 2027 is that all the fuel in all MotoGP classes will be of 100% non-fossil origin. Even if we don't see Suzuki back racing at the highest level in 2027, it's a relief to see that it hasn't stopped developing race machines.
