Team Suzuki Press Office – February 15. A hot day kicked off the second session of 2017 MotoGP™ with Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins busy on the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. The classification at the end of day one sees Iannone in third place and Rins in 19th, after an intense day of work.
Iannone’s program continued from where he had left the bike in Malaysia, with the aim to double check the new specs introduced to the GSX-RR and verify the effectiveness of the direction that the engineers had taken. Also, it was a chance for him to check the capability of the adaptation of the machine and set-up on a brand new circuit. The day went on with different setting tests, as well as different configurations of the electronics, proceeding step-by-step as usual for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR. Despite the first part of the day seeing Iannone struggling with the feel of the bike, the modifications introduced in the second part of the afternoon proved to be effective and he posted the positive time of 1:29.926, pushing him into third place, +0.429s from the leader.
The different experience of Rins allowed him a different approach to the test. He spent more time working on his riding style and adaptation to the GSX-RR MotoGP machine, rather than bike modifications. The specs chosen after the Malaysia test delivered a good baseline from which to work. This allowed him to focus on the efficiency of his lines. With only a few set-up adaptations having been introduced to his #42 machine, he was able to stay focused on the analysis of the data which gives him important advice for his riding efficiency. His position at the end of the first test day was 19th, leaving much room for improvement.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“The beginning of the day hasn’t been that easy for us. We struggled to find a good set-up for Andrea, making his work complicated. Then his engineers sat down in the lunch break and with clear minds they analysed step-by-step the problems and possible solutions. The Team made a good job and at the end, things went better. He found a good pace and felt confident, especially the very last laps. Tomorrow we can start from here to look for confirmation of these improvements and to proceed with the work for further improvements. Also Alex’s first day was positive. His main task was to get acquainted with the machine and try to adapt as best he could to the GSX-RR on this circuit. He suffered a lot because of the wind; wind had been hard for all riders, but probably his lack of experience with a MotoGP machine caused a bigger challenge for him. He is still in the process of learning; we are working step by step with him.”
Andrea Iannone:
“This morning was very difficult for us. The team couldn’t find the proper setting to feel confident. I struggled a lot. But then in the afternoon, we changed some settings and improved step by step. At the final stage I was happy because the machine improved, as well as the feeling of the bike and the pace. This is a very positive outcome, because it means we have the capability to overcome very hard situations and turn them into a positive. As of tomorrow, we have the chance to work on pace as well as single lap performance, and also introduce some more improvements. We are on a good path. My crew chief is as new as I am with the GSX-RR and it’s very important for us to learn and get to know it at its best.”
Alex Rins:
“The program of first day mainly focused on doing as many laps as possible to get confident with the GSX-RR on a new circuit and find good lines for a MotoGP machine and try to be consistent. Here the wind plays an important role that can affect the riding style. From a technical point of view, we just tried the new 2017 suspensions with some different settings, collecting data to work on. Probably tomorrow we will introduce some more new things, but again the focus will be on my riding style. With my crew chief, I’ve already seen that there are many parts of the track where we can be more effective, like sector three, and this will come with experience and confidence.”
AUSTRALIAN TEST – Classification after Day 1:
1. MARQUEZ, Marc – Repsol Honda Team – 1:29.497 – Lap 53 / 68
2. ROSSI, Valentino – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:29.683 +0.186 – Lap 76 / 77
3. IANNONE, Andrea – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:29.926 +0.429 – Lap 68 / 70
4. VIÑALES, Maverick – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:29.989 +0.492 – Lap 26 / 64
5. CRUTCHLOW, Cal – LCR Honda – 1:30.065 +0.568 – Lap 61 / 61
6. PETRUCCI, Danilo – Octo Pramac Racing – 1:30.262 +0.765 – Lap 87 / 87
7. PEDROSA, Dani – Repsol Honda Team – 1:30.281 +0.784 – Lap 13 / 55
8. DOVIZIOSO, Andrea – Ducati Team – 1:30.410 +0.913 – Lap 16 / 64
9. MILLER, Jack – Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1:30.426 +0.929 – Lap 80 / 82
10. FOLGER, Jonas – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:30.578 +1.081 – Lap 30 / 62
11. LORENZO, Jorge – Ducati Team – 1:30.631 +1.134 – Lap 33 / 61
12. BAUTISTA, Alvaro – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1:30.770 +1.273 – Lap 24 / 68
13. BARBERA, Hector – Reale Esponsorama Racing – 1:30.771 +1.274 – Lap 7/51
14. ESPARGARO, Aleix – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:30.802 +1.305 – Lap 26 / 28
15. ZARCO, Johann – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:30.867 +1.370 – Lap 77 / 80
16. ABRAHAM, Karel – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1:31.179 +1.682 – Lap 17 / 61
17. ESPARGARO, Pol – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:31.200 +1.703 – Lap 54 / 59
18. BAZ, Loris – Reale Esponsorama Racing – 1:31.249 +1.752 – Lap 56 / 60
19. RINS, Alex – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:31.432 +1.935 – Lap 66 / 66
20. REDDING, Scott – Octo Pramac Racing – 1:31.755 +2.258 – Lap 33 / 59
21. LOWES, Sam – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:32.307 +2.810 – Lap 15 / 35
22. SMITH, Bradley – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:32.690 +3.193 – Lap 43 / 57
