Top 5 Suzuki MotoGP drivers of all time

Suzuki MotoGP, along with Honda and Yamaha, is one of the premier teams in MotoGP. It is officially the factory-backed team of Suzuki in the MotoGP world championship.

It is running under the team Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP moniker for sponsorship purposes. It was created by Jack Findlay and Daniel Fontana, former Grand Prix riders using a chassis of their own design in 1970.

Team Suzuki has had many drivers since the team started racing in MotoGP. In the early 1970s, Barry Sheene, one of the great MotoGP racers, rode for them.

Kevin Schwantz joined the team in 2000 and he rode for them until 2012 when he retired from racing. Team Suzuki is another team which is in the league of Honda and Yamaha when it comes to MotoGP racing.

Here we have a look at the top five racers who have raced for Suzuki.

#1 Barry Sheene

Barry Sheene, one of the premier MotoGP drivers, was a British professional Motorcycle racer. The Englishman has won two world championships along with two consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977.

Sheene's title in 1977 was the only world championship title from Britain until Danny Kent who won in 2015 in the Moto3 category.

Barry Sheene had a long racing career which spanned from 1968 till 1984 after which he became a Motorsport commentator.

Sheene won his first race at Brands hatch riding 125cc and 250cc Bultacos which gifted to him by his father Frank. He becomes the British 125cc championship at the age of only 20.

He was signed by Suzuki in 1972-1973 where he won the newly formed Formula 750 championships. When Suzuki introduced the RG500 in 1974, Sheene rode it and finished sixth in the world championship.

He faced a brutal crash in 1975 which threatened to end his career as the crash left him with major bone fractures but miraculously he recovered and started racing several weeks after the crash.

Not only that he won the 500cc at the Dutch TT. In the 1976 season. Sheene won five 500cc championships which brought him the world championship. Sheene's battle with Kenny Roberts was one of the best battles of all- time.

When Sheene left Suzuki and joined Yamaha, he and Kenny Roberts let the Suzuki racer, Marco Lucchinelli finish the race in the top two.

Barry Sheene died in 2002 due to cancer. He is regarded as one of the best drivers in the history of MotoGP.

#2 Kevin Schwantz

Kevin Schwantz is an American professional motorcycle road racer. The racer from America has won the 1993 FIM 500cc world championship.

He started racing at the age of 4 and his competitive career started at trials just like his father and uncle, Daryl Hurst. He qualified for motocross in his teens and soon became a top regional MX racer.

Schwantz faced a serious crash in 1983 in qualifying for the Houston race and therefore he decided to quit motocross.

Schwantz was offered a test ride by Yamaha in 1984 and immediately made an impact as he won both legs of 1985 Willow Springs AMA Superbike national.

Despite only competing in half of the races, Schwantz finished seventh in the championship. He was only second to Eddie Lawson in the 1986 Daytona 200 which he raced on the new Suzuki GSX-R750.

1987 was the year when a fierce rivalry between Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey started making headlines. The two made contact during races throughout the season and in the end, it was Rainey who won the championship. It was Schwantz who won five out of six races in the Championship.

Schwantz was famous because of his competitive nature as he was always trying to compete with big teams such as Honda and Yamaha.

He suffered another crash in 1993 which led him to be paralyzed in his chest and hence had to retire from MotoGP. He operates a riding school in Birmingham, Alabama.

#3 Marco Lucchinelli

He was nicknamed as the 'Crazy Horse' for his wild riding style which attracted many fans

Marco Lucchinelli, a former Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, is one of the best racers to have raced for Suzuki.

The Italian has won 1981 FIM 500cc world championship. Lucchinelli was born in Bolano and he began his racing career in 1975 on a Laverda in endurance racing.

He was hired by Suzuki in 1976 to ride in the 500cc world championship in which he finished fourth. He was nicknamed as the 'Crazy Horse' for his wild riding style which attracted many fans.

When he returned to Suzuki in 1978 after a short stint with Yamaha in 1977, Lucchinelli won his first 500cc Grand Prix in Germany. He finished third in the season behind Kenny Roberts and Randy Mamola.

He had his best year in 1981 as he began the year with a wonderful victory over Kenny Roberts in the prestigious Imola 200 non-championship race in Italy. He also won five Grand Prix victories with Suzuki while battling Mamola to the final race of the season. He ended up winning the 500cc world championship.

Lucchinelli left Suzuki for Honda in 1982 where he had some disappointing years. He has faced some tough times in his career as he was arrested for possession of drugs.

After he was released from jail, he became a commentator for the Eurosport coverage for Motorsport. He finished with six Grand Prix victories.

#4 Franco Uncini

Franco Uncini is a former Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He has won the world championship with Suzuki in 1982.

Uncini was born in Recanati which is a province of Macerata. He, like Marco Lucchinelli, made his racing debut in the 750cc class with Laverda. Uncini started off his Grand Prix career with Yamaha in 1976 in both the 250cc and 350cc classes.

In 1979, he was able to buy a Suzuki and built a private team from scratch. He was often meeting with accidents which hindered his career but after Marco Lucchinelli left Suzuki for Honda, they offered Uncini an official factory-sponsored race bike which is run by Roberto Gallina's team.

It was a great decision made by Uncini as he won five races along with the world championship. It is a surprise that he was the only Italian rider to have won the 500cc championships before Valentino Rossi won the championship in 2001.

Franco Uncini, unfortunately, suffered a major hit in 1983 and went into a coma. He was lucky that he recovered and then retired from the sport in 1985. He currently acts as the safety officer in MotoGP.

#5 Kenny Roberts Jr.

Kenny Roberts Jr, a former American Motorcycle road racer, is a 500cc world championship winner which he won in the year 2000.

He and his father, Kenny Roberts Sr, are the only father-son duo to have won the 500cc world championship. This is not the only achievement of the junior Roberts as he was inducted into the FIM MotoGP hall of fame in 2017.

Roberts started off his racing career in the 250cc class at Willow Springs in 1990. It was an amazing start for the youngster as he won five races in his debut season. By 1993, he was a full-time racer for the Marlboro-Yamaha team.

Roberts had a poor 1996 season as he finished thirteenth overall and was sacked by Yamaha. He then joined his father's team in 1997 where he struggled for two years as he finished sixteenth and thirteenth.

It was in 1999 that Suzuki signed Roberts for their Grand Prix team. His debut race for Suzuki resulted in a surprise win and defeated Michael Doohan.

He defeated Doohan again in Japan. He was on a winning streak which made him a strong contender for the title. Unfortunately, Roberts lost consistency and eventually ended up finishing second in the championship behind Alex Criville.

In the year 2000, the only challenge which Roberts faced from Valentino Rossi who was a rookie at that time.

Roberts won four races and finishing on the podium position five times. He eventually ended up winning the championship.

He is also the first son of a former racer to have won the world championship. After that, he lost consistency and did not win any race for the next few seasons. He was replaced by Chris Vermeulen in the Suzuki team.

Edited by Alan John