Ecstar Suzuki boss Davide Brivio believes that Maverick Vinales could become as important to the factory as Barry Sheene or Kevin Schwantz but only if the young Spaniard is not lured away by a big contract from Honda or Yamaha - which could happen this season.

Suzuki look to have pinned their hopes on Vinales to carry the GSX-RR project forward but he will have to resist large offers from the other Japanese factories or, indeed, Ducati as his star rises.

“We consider Maverick very important for this project. It’s no secret that we really dream of having a bright future together. Maverick could become an icon of the Suzuki brand. Someone like a Kevin Schwantz, a Barry Sheene, someone like that. But he has to stay,” said Brivio

“It is very important to show our potential to our riders so we can continue with the same group, the same package for a long time. That’s the idea. If we’re able to deliver good performance and show the bike is good we have a better chance to let Maverick stay with us.”

See more on this story in the new issue of the BSN app, out today, in our free, 27-page MotoGP season preview. Way to your app store now, Dougal.