Suzuki recognised the achievements of many of its dealers during its annual dealer conference, which was attended in person by many following last year’s online-only meeting.

The 2022 conference, held at York’s Principal Hotel, saw around 50 dealers attend, while just under 30 joined virtually, with the entire presentation delivered live, online.

After Suzuki GB’s senior management had looked back over the achievements and successes of 2021, outlined the challenges and opportunities facing the market, and discussed plans for the forthcoming season, much socialising and networking was achieved over a black tie gala dinner, before the Japanese marque’s MD, Nobuo Suyama, presented 14 awards to nine dealerships.

Cupar Motorcycles and Thunder Road collected three apiece, with the Scottish retailer, Cupar, celebrated as the 2021 Accessory Sales Dealer of the Year, Customer Experience Dealer of the Year, and Hayabusa Sales Dealer of the Year. South Wales-based Thunder Road were awarded the overall Sales Dealer of the Year gong, Suzuki Finance Dealer of the Year, and a 20 Years of Service accolade.

In total, Suzuki GB marked 180 years of collective experience, with Blade Motorcycles, GT Motorcycles, and Robinsons of Rochdale all reaching 10 years of service. Haslemere Motorcycle and David Jones Motorcycles have clocked 40 years of service each, while Bridge Motorcycles have surpassed 50 years with the brand.

Other awards handed out included Marketing Dealer of the Year, which went to Powerslide Motorcycles, and Aftersales Dealer of the Year, which was handed to GT Motorcycles.

Suzuki GB head of motorcycles, Jonathan Martin, said, “After the last two years it was great to see so many of our dealers again. And for those that couldn’t make it, having the livestream available online was a great way for everyone to still be involved and hear the important messages from Suzuki. Despite the challenges the pandemic has created for everyone, we still introduced five new and updated models last year – probably most notably the third generation Hayabusa, the new GSX-S1000, and most recently the new GSX-S1000GT – and it was good to be able to reflect on the hard work from everyone that made those new model introductions a success. But it was also important to have an eye on the future, and to be able to inform our dealers of our plans for 2022 and beyond and reassure them that we are going to continue investing in our business, and in theirs.”