Team Suzuki Press Office – March 10.
Andrea Iannone – 10th
Alex Rins – 18th
The third and final test before the MotoGP™ season kicks-off has just started at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar and under the floodlights of the track, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins took the opportunity to finalise details of their GSX-RRs in preparation for the first race here later this month.
Although the main specs of the machines had been decided in Australia (such as chassis and engine), much work is still to be done to finalise the set-up and the electronics. The team will also try new fairings in the next days to find some more information to work on.
Iannone took his first lap with the GSX-RR in the night environment, focusing on the finalisation of his machine. He suffered some difficulties in getting a good feel, especially with the front end, and will require more time and work by the engineers to see his usual performance. His best lap today was 1:55.751, which was the 10th of the class.
Rins took his usual step-by-step approach to start the preparation for the first race. His performance on the timesheet was not so positive (18th with 1:56.589), but his focus was to work on the machine set-up and to focus on his riding style and in improving his lines. He also incurred a crash, which is pretty typical for debutants at the Losail circuit, which luckily didn’t result in any injuries.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“With Andrea, we are working on some issues we are encountering. Some things we see can be improved and his feel is not yet at 100%. We should find some solutions or ideas to make the machine better in every aspect. Today was a very useful day as we collected a lot of data that will help us to find some solutions for tomorrow. Alex had a pretty standard first day, his lap-time can still be improved, but we will try to do the same as we did in previous tests where in the second and third day he improved consistently. Both of them incurred some crashes: Andrea’s were pretty innocuous, while Alex crashed at corner 2, which is a sort of price to be paid by all the newcomers to this track.”
Andrea Iannone – P10 – 1:55.75:
“In this first day we have focused on the settings. We are encountering new problems similar to chattering and we are trying to find some solutions. I also incurred a crash, with no injuries, just because I was trying to push it to the limit. I’m struggling to find the right feel with the front end. I do not feel completely confident in hard braking, and then when I get to the maximum leaning I feel the front sliding away and in fact this was the cause of the crash. However, I’m positive because my feeling is that the classification is not really reflective of our stage of development. I struggle on the single lap, but my pace is not that far from the top riders. Of course, we have to work on all aspects, to be performing both in the timed attack and in the pace, but for sure the first thing is the one we have to improve most.”
Alex Rins – P18 – 1:56.589:
“Finally, I’m pleased by how the day went. Honestly, this circuit is proving to be a little harder than I expected it to be, performing in the MotoGP class. Being in the dark of the night, it’s pretty complicated to find the right references for the braking points and the lines, but I’m learning lap-by-lap. I also incurred a little crash, but I feel good. I had no injuries, and I really look forward to tomorrow, to trying the new modifications and improvements we have in our plan and in trying to get a better and better performance.”
QATAR TEST – Classification after Day1:
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – 1:54.819 – Lap 26 / 36
2. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:55.179 +0.360 – Lap 49 / 60
3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda – 1:55.420 +0.601 – Lap 28 / 28
4. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1:55.613 +0.794 – Lap 42 / 42
5. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – 1:55.616 +0.797 – Lap 27 / 46
6. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:55.640 +0.821 – Lap 27 / 37
7. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:55.679 +0.860 – Lap 43 / 48
8. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team – 1:55.692 +0.873 – Lap 21 / 38
9. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:55.705 +0.886 – Lap 45 / 54
10. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:55.751 +0.932 – Lap 30 / 41
11. Danilo PETRUCCI, Octo Pramac Racing – 1:55.830 +1.011 – Lap 33 / 41
12. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team – 1:55.899 +1.080 – Lap / 39
13. Aleix ESPARGARÓ, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:55.916 +1.097 – Lap 32 / 43
14. Jack MILLER, Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1:56.017 +1.198 – Lap 49 / 59
15. Scott REDDING, Octo Pramac Racing – 1:56.085 +1.266 – Lap 23 / 37
16. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1:56.116 +1.297 – Lap 31 / 43
17. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – 1:56.193 +1.374 – Lap 25 / 31
18. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:56.589 +1.770 – Lap 41 / 48
19. Pol ESPARGARÓ, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:56.665 +1.846 – Lap 44 / 46
20. Sal LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:57.090 +2.271 – Lap 24 / 38
21. Tito RABAT, Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1:57.455 +2.636 – Lap 36 / 46
22. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:58.039 +3.220 – Lap 32 / 32
23. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:58.755 +3.936 – Lap 35 / 46
