With the Covid technical freeze not reaching a complete thaw for MotoGP's non-Concession manufacturers until the end of th🌄is season, opportunitieꦓs are limited to make a significant technical step for the remainder of 2021.

A notable exception is Suzuki which, while joining the other manufacturers in having a front hole🧜shot device, is currently the only maꦉnufacturer without a rear ride-height system.

While the front is only used once, at the race start, the rear is more significant since it can be repeatedly activated over a lap, helping to counter wheelies under ha🔯rd acceleration onto a long straight.

Just how significant is it?

"Suzuki calculate in every track," said Alex Rins. "For example, 🐲in Sachsenring we were losing 0.4 seconds. And here [Ass𒁃en], I don't know exactly, [we think] we are losing 0.3."

"It depends on the track," he added. "For example, in Qatar🐬 without this rear device, for sure on the straight the others were taking like 0.3, 0.4 seconds.

"In Sachsenring we felt it in the race and looking from the helicopter camera you can appreciate that the o༒thers were going away from Joan and me, we had no chance to overtake the rider in front.

"But, for example in Mugello there was le꧟ss dif﷽ference."

To put those predications into perspective, removing the theoretical 0.🎃4s a lap from Rins' Sachsenring qualifying time wꦇould have moved him from 11th to 5th on the grid.

Instead of starting 17th in Germany, team-mate and reigning champion Joan𒈔 Mir would have joined Rins in progressing into Qualifying 2 a꧒nd a certain top 12 start.

Apply a 0.3s deduction to Assen and Rins would move from 7th to 4th on ꩵthe grid f🅠or the Dutch TT, with Mir advancing from 10th to 6th.

Given that qualifying and overtaking are among the main weaknesses for the GSX-RR, it's 🐷easy to s꧑ee why the riders are pushing so hard to have the device.

"First of all, we must work to have the rear device as soon as possible, to have the♏ same tools as the others," said Mir.

The device is already under development in Hamamatsu, but when will it appear? The good news is that Rins and Mir shouldn't have much longer to wait, although whether it will instantly be a match for the cutting-edge systems used by the likes of Ducat🌃i remains to be seen.

"It's been a long time that we have been asking for this rear device," Rins confirmed. "For sure Su🐻zuki is working hard, but they want to bring things when🌳 they are sure they are working well.

"Theoretically, they will bring it for the second race in Austria. So I think ꦚ[test rider Sylvain Guintoli] will try it before that, or otherwise Tsuda, t൩he Japanese test rider, in Japan.

"It's not ea𝄹sy when everybody [else] is using these new items and we are a little bit late. But our bike is working well [wi💧thout it], so this is the important thing also."

Although Suzuki has not won a race so far this season, Mir has taken three podiums and holds fourth in the world championship, although a formidable 55 point🦋s behind Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha.

Rins, although out-qualifying Mir in seven of the eight events they have both attended, suffered a nightmare run of fou🀅r successive race accidents then a wrist fracture while on his bicycle inꦿ Catalunya, leaving him 14th.

The opening Red Bull Ring round marks the end of the summer break on August 8 with the second event, where the Suz🦩uki rear ride-height device could make its debut, the following weekend.