Suzuki GSX-8R held back: Sportbike victories now virtually impossible

With Aprilia, Honda, Kawasaki, Kove, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha, seven manufacturers are competing in the 2026 World Sportbike Championship. The variety of motorcycles is unique in terms of design concepts. The range extends from large twin-cylinder engines with a capacity of 776 ccm to a small 450 ccm four-cylinder engine. The lightest motorbike is the Kove 450RR, the heaviest the Suzuki GSX-8R.

A complex balancing system is designed to ensure a level playing field. It is understandable that adjustments will need to be made time and again during the championship’s first year. This also explains why a manufacturer might be fighting for podium places one race weekend, only to fail to make the top five the next. This is what happened to Suzuki.

“The first two race weekends were particularly strong. Everything clicked perfectly. We had a good foundation, the pace was there, and I felt that we could really be in the mix for the wins. As a rider, that’s the feeling you rely on,” said Jeffrey Buis in his column on racesport.nl. “Unfortunately, something changed after that which was beyond our control. The Suzuki’s performance was curbed slightly, and you can really tell. I know that from the outside it might not always look that way, but on the bike you can feel straight away when something’s missing.”

Buis is currently fourth in the World Championship with one win and three podium finishes, but since Most, the two-time 300cc World Champion has failed to finish in the top five.

“You have to push to the limit on every lap just to keep up the pace. That makes it difficult to attack. You mainly focus on not losing ground, but as a rider you actually want to move up the field,” explained the Dutchman. “It’s not just me; my Suzuki team-mates Kas Beekmans and Ferry Fleerackers are in exactly the same boat. That pretty much says it all. Of course, we’ll keep fighting, because giving up is out of the question for me. But it doesn’t make things any easier.”