Roger DeCoster (Larry Lawrence photo)

A totally unexpected announcement came out yesterday from Suzuki that Roger DeCoster would no longer be heading the championship-winning Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. On the surface the split is a real head scratcher. After all DeCoster won world championships with Suzuki dating back to the early 1970s and has had a successful 15-year run heading up Suzuki’s motocross and Supercross racing program.

In a candid radio interview with DMXS Radio DeCoster said he was looking for a three-year contract extension with Suzuki after which he planned to retire. When Suzuki offered him only a one-year extension DeCoster decided to look elsewhere. While it hasn’t been finalized DeCoster confirmed on the show that he was in talks with KTM and joining them looked likely.

DeCoster’s departure indicates to me that Suzuki is in very big trouble financially. A company would not let one of its icons get away when all he wanted was three more years on his contract unless they were looking to make drastic cutbacks.

“The Japanese management [of Suzuki] has decided that they are so unsure of the future of the economy that they did not want to commit to more than a one-year deal,” DeCoster said.

Ironically DeCoster has been known to turn the small budgets Suzuki gave him into gold. He brought in Ricky Carmichael, after RC went through knee reconstruction and Honda’s management apparently thought he would not be able to perform at the level he had previously. Carmichael proved to be as strong as ever in his comeback and he frequently praised DeCoster’s running of Suzuki’s racing team.

DeCoster also recognized the talent of a young rider named Ryan Dungey when no one else saw his potential. The move to sign the relative then unknown rider has worked out pretty well. Dungey is the first rookie in AMA history to win the Supercross and motocross title.

Interestingly if DeCoster does end up with KTM he will be working with Mike Alessi, a rider that DeCoster fired from Suzuki.

DeCoster praised Suzuki, especially the engineering side of the company. He said it was not an easy decision to leave the company. “Unfortunately in these times the accountants have more power in the company than the engineers,” DeCoster claimed.

In the surprisingly open interview with DMXS DeCoster said he might have stayed with Suzuki, even with a one-year deal, had his retirement plans stayed on track. DeCoster, who is 66, admitted he is heavily invested in real estate, which has taken a huge hit in recent years.

DeCoster said KTM seems to be in a “forward-thinking mode” and is not letting the bad economy hinder its future racing plans. DeCoster said he believes KTM can be successful in U.S. championships. KTM last won an AMA Motocross title in the 250cc class with Grant Langston in 2003. The Austrian company has never won in the premier AMA 450cc Motocross class or the AMA Supercross Series. KTM took a major hit in motocross after Jeremy McGrath was injured practicing for the KTM team before the 2003 AMA Supercross season and later blamed the suspension on the motorcycle for his crash.

DeCoster will continue through the end of this season with Suzuki before moving to his new job. He is once again the team manager for the U.S. Motocross des Nations squad.

In the interview DeCoster also briefly addressed the James Stewart/Motocross des Nations controversy, where Stewart claimed he was lied to after being told he would have the opportunity to ride for Team USA if he raced and in some of the final rounds of the outdoor nationals and proved he was healthy. While DeCoster denies ever talking directly with Stewart he admitted talking to Oakley’s Anthony Paggio about Stewart, mentioning to Paggio that Stewart needed to race some nationals soon if he wanted a chance to race in the des Nations. “Exactly what was told to him if he did good in the last four races… that I don’t know,” DeCoster said.

DeCoster said he also did not know why the AMA chose to announce the team before Stewart even raced in his comeback at Unadilla on August 14.

Looking back on his career at Suzuki, when asked if he would have done anything differently he said he wished he could have won championships earlier with Suzuki when he started there as manager and wished also that they could have sold more motorcycles in recent years so he could have continued with the company.