It is December 28, 2022, and other than currently being a single of the handful of times in in between the Christmas and New 12 months celebrations, it’s also a working day for pranks in some nations around the world. In Spain and a range of Latin American international locations, it’s celebrated as Día de los Santos Inocentes, or Working day of the Innocent Saints. An additional title for it is Día de las Bromas, or Day of Jokes—and that is why we’re speaking about it currently.
Leave it to MotoGP racer Álex Rins to come up with the bittersweet joke to end all jokes for the December 28 celebration of pranks in 2022. As you may remember, Rins formally raced with Team Ecstar Suzuki from 2017 to 2022 in the premier class of global bike racing. In 2020, Rins took third place in the MotoGP Earth Championship, when teammate Joan Mir received the riders’ championship that 12 months, an unforgettable accomplishment for the manufacturing facility Suzuki staff.
Which is component of the rationale why Suzuki sent shockwaves in the course of the complete paddock when it introduced that it was ending manufacturing unit support of its racing groups in MotoGP and the FIM Endurance Globe Championship at the conclusion of 2022. Perhaps that is why Rins, who was a single of the Group Ecstar Suzuki riders affected by this determination, determined to have the final giggle on December 28, 2022, when he made the pursuing prank submit on Instagram:
It reads, in Spanish, “Os presento el AR42 Crew para MotoGP 2023. Después de meses de negociación @suzukimotogp nos ha cedido la GSX-RR para estar en MotoGP la próxima temporada con un team manager que seguro conocéis. Gracias a todos nuestros patrocinadores por hacerlo posible @estrellagalicia00 @monsterenergy”
Or, in English, “We have achieved an settlement with #Suzuki to contend in 2023 with their bicycle under the AR42 Workforce with a very identified staff principal @livio.suppo Many thanks to all companions for building it feasible!”
The hashtags on this write-up, by the way, are #MotoGP, #Suzuki, #42ins, and #DíaDeLosSantosInocentes, which is the only clue if you aren’t experienced to look for pranks on this day just about every yr. In some places, April 1 is the day of pranks, but in many others, December 28 is it, so it truly is superior to preserve an eye out.
Was Rins motivated by the Franco-Japanese Yoshimura SERT workforce formally saying that they’ll contend in the FIM Endurance Environment Championship with Suzuki guidance in 2023 soon after all? That group manufactured the announcement on December 16, 2022—just less than two weeks prior to this holiday break of pranks. We might never know for absolutely sure, but it is certainly a risk.
In any circumstance, as MotoGP followers know, Rins actually has a agreement with LCR Honda for 2023 and 2024—so when he’ll be lining up on the grid, it won’t be with Suzuki. Some folks bought the joke, and some people didn’t, but it’s fairly evidently not intended to be taken significantly.
