Right Place, Wrong TimeEven though American Suzuki won it all in '81, there was trouble in paradise, but it had nothing to do with the team or its riders. The problem was the motorcycle industry. "Our company back then was really struggling because the industry in general had a glut of product out there," said Mel Harris, American Suzuki's executive vice president. "Everybody was discounting and doing whatever they had to do to get rid of it." Management in Japan reorganized the company's structure and more emphasis was put on roadracing and the debut of the GSX-R in '85. The GSX-R went on to win countless AMA Superbike and support-class crowns while the motocross line and team suffered.
Suzuki's downward spiral continued through the '80s and into the '90s. In the 22 years leading into 2005, Suzuki won three AMA motocross titles, a handful of supercross races and only got realistically close to the supercross championship once. It became the factory where riders ended up as a last resort. Mike LaRocco and Larry Ward both rode for Suzuki twice in their careers at different stages. Still, Suzuki couldn't put together a good season. Whatever it was Suzuki just didn't have it. "It's the combination of the bike and rider," said "The Professor" Gary Bailey, who competed on a Bultaco when Suzuki brought its bikes over from Japan. "I guess it's just like any team: Whenever they're winning and dominating, you're saying, 'What is it that makes them so dominating and powerful?' It's a combination of so many things-of mechanics and bikes and riders and the whole team effort. If you don't have that entire package, it's not going to work."
Enter "The Man"In '95, after 12 years of heartbreak and anguish, Suzuki decided it was time to reinvent its motocross program. The company's first step was hiring Roger DeCoster, who had helped Honda become the most successful OEM in AMA history. DeCoster may be better known for the five FIM 500cc World Motocross titles he won on Suzukis and his role in 16 Motocross and Trophee des Nations teams for Belgium. DeCoster had the knowledge and the experience and knew how to win. But could he do it with Suzuki? "It was rough," DeCoster said. "When I came back, some people told me they wanted to get back on top. They invited me to Japan, and they brought a room of engineers I had worked with in the '70s whom they wanted to get back. I was all excited for the challenge. Then when I started working I realized how far things had declined."
DeCoster recalled that Honda, the team he'd managed for nearly 15 years, had amassed so much strength that it discouraged the others. DeCoster's first action in '95 was bringing three-time World Champ Greg Albertyn to the team. After four years of injuries and frightening crashes, Albee delivered Suzuki the 1999 AMA 250cc title, the company's first in the premier class since '81. Albertyn's championship was sweet, but with Ricky Carmichael moving up to the 250cc class in 2000 and the King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath, reigning overall, the pressure on DeCoster to perform sent him into overtime. Despite the hard times, Harris has never blamed DeCoster.
"There are a lot of things that people don't know about Roger and the work he's done," Harris said. "I can tell you there are many times when he's called me late at night and he's just leaving one of the shops."