Suzuki MotoGP confirm wildcard entry for Randy de Puniet for season finale at Valencia

FRENCH rider Randy de Puniet will lead Suzuki’s return to MotoGP at this weekend’s season finale at Valencia.

RANDY de Puniet will lead Suzuki’s return to MotoGP at this weekend’s season finale at Valencia.

The 34-year-old Frenchman will race the company’s new GSX-RR MotoGP bike as a wildcard, their first participation in a MotoGP race since they left the sport at the end of 2011.

De Puniet hasn’t taken part in a race since the final race of the 2013 MotoGP season, dedicating 2014 to his role as Suzuki’s chief test rider.

Randy de Puniet.

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“I’m ready for it, because I miss racing,” De Puniet told motogp.com.

“I know it’s hard to pick up the pace at the end of a season. I’m not under pressure. Whatever happens, it won’t change my future. For me this race is a reward.”

Watch all the action from the MotoGP season finale LIVE and ad-free in full HD, Sunday 9 November from 7:30pm AEDT on Fox Sports 5 (Foxtel channel 506).

The machine has yet to match the pace of the factory-backed bikes from Honda, Yamaha and even Ducati in the times Suzuki has joined official post-race tests in 2014.

“We are not setting any targets in terms of results,” De Puniet admits.

“I like the circuit, it’s a very technical track, not very big. I usually like faster circuits, but I feel pretty comfortable there. It has also been resurfaced, so it is in better condition than before.

“We don’t know if it will be a good track for Suzuki, but in any case it’s a circuit that I like and that’s a positive.”

De Puniet has been Suzuki’s lead test rider.

It may be the only time De Puniet will race the machine, having been passed over for a full-time gig for 2015.

Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales will race for the new squad next season while De Puniet will dovetail MotoGP testing duties with a ride with Suzuki’s Superbike World Championship effort.

He isn’t bitter about the decision in the slightest, and says the testing role allows him to keep one foot in the door for the future.

“They wanted to focus on a young rider from Moto2 and, given the season he’s had, I think it’s the right choice with Viñales. Also Aleix has exploded this year. He’s a rider on the way up.

“If they had hired someone else, or someone not as good as me or if it was not a logical choice, I would have been disappointed. But I was never promised anything.

“For me (the testing/WSBK role is) perfect because I will keep the link with MotoGP and you never know what the future will bring.

“I will turn 34, I’m not old and if one day there is an opportunity to come back, then why not?

“If I win or I’m ahead in Superbikes I’ll stay there, but for now I’m taking one thing at a time.”

De Puniet has been Suzuki’s lead test rider.

Originally published as Suzuki MotoGP confirm wildcard entry for Randy de Puniet for season finale at Valencia