BLAST FROM THE PAST

Two years on from Suzuki calling time on its iconic GSX-R1000, this one's just finished eighth in the Senior TT. Here's why...

- DANGEROUS

Fresh from the track, breathing heavily and sweating like a drug mule in Heathrow airport, I couldn't help but question my fitness and whether or not that chocolate eclair for breakfast was the smartest choice. Maybe not, but I'm not the only one to make debatable choices, with perhaps a bigger mistake being Suzuki's decision to let go of its flagship GSX-R1000 at the end of 2022. For me, it only seems like yesterday I was spinning laps on this game changer around Philip Island during its launch in 2017, lauding it for its GP-derived engineering, torquey motor and impressively agile chassis.

As a road bike, it was pretty damn good, and on track it would go on to win domestic championships the world over, plus a Senior TT in its maiden year in the hands of Michael Dunlop, who lapped the Island with a 133mph average. It was never the fastest, nor the smartest, but it was perhaps the best overall package on the scene until the last few years, when the likes of BMW's S1000RR, Ducati's Panigale V4 and Honda's CBR1000RR upped their games and rendered it obsolete, with a nigh on 30bhp deficit compared to its rivals.

Suzuki had two choices: go all-out to find more power, less weight and a dash that didn't look like a throwback from Knight Rider or accept its fate and bow out with dignity. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it chose the latter. But the story hasn't stopped there, because for all those people hung up on big horsepower figures and shiny trick bits, there are also an abundance of racers and teams that have continued to see the depth and versatility of this discontinued protagonist.