Team Suzuki Press Office – May 21.
Andrea Iannone: P10, +48.332
Sylvain Guintoli: P15, +1’06.878
The French GP brought with it some sun over the track during the race and also some positive Championship points to both Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders. Andrea Iannone finished in P10 and Sylvain Guintoli in P15.
At the start, Iannone was able to hold his position during the early corners, then managed to recover some positions and then fought to get as many points as possible. His confidence with the setup was not at its best, so he raced wisely until the chequered flag.
Guintoli enjoyed his debut with the GSX-RR, managing to improve his pace and be consistent in his performance. His contribution was particularly appreciated by Suzuki engineers for his precise and witty feedback about the machine.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager
“It’s been a tough weekend for us. I have the feeling we needed more time to adjust the bike, compared to our competitors. Both on Friday and Saturday the weather has been very unstable, and this affected our work, not being able to improve the settings. We did our very best right up until Sunday morning to find some effective solutions, but we couldn’t deliver a setup that made the riders feel comfortable enough for a better performance. This is the reason why we had poor results today. Sylvain did a great job, his comments and feeling for the machine are very precise, and they will be helpful in its development. Sylvain will arrive at the next race with more experience, and Mugello is Andrea’s home track. I therefore feel really hopeful the Italian GP will be a totally different story for us.”
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Sadly this weekend we encountered some troubles in adapting quickly to the variable weather conditions, which did indeed affect our work and performance more than it did others. We couldn’t deliver a good package for the race to Andrea, which prevented him from being able to push as much as he would like. We have to be positive and look ahead. I hope the next races will take place in more stable weather conditions. Right now we have to work hard on the data to find the problem, and hopefully some solutions. For sure this is not demonstrating the potential that the rider and the machine can reach. We need to find away to make them work better together. Sylvain had a positive debut. Also for him, the conditions weren’t very friendly since he could only complete one dry session before the race, but he will continue to race with us in Mugello, so I believe that this experience will pay off in the near future.”
Andrea Iannone
“This race has been difficult and we are not in an easy situation, but we are a great and strong group, and we are managing to improve in every race and in every session. In each race this year we have improved on our time from the previous year, but we still need to improve more as the competitors have made even bigger steps forward. In today’s race I had some difficulties feeling confident enough to push the limits, but my priority was finishing the race and getting some points, so I settled for 10th place. We are encountering troubles with braking. We cannot reduce the speed effectively, and we need to focus on this aspect because it prevents me from overtaking at the braking points, as well as struggling with the traction when I the bike picks up. Also when the bike is loaded with full tank, it is more difficult to control. I don’t feel confident. We now have a considerable amount of data to verify. Hopefully it will help for Mugello.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“It’s a nice feeling to score a point in my home race. We didn’t have too much dry time to work here, and at the end I think we did a good job under the circumstances. I really enjoyed riding the GSX-RR around the Le Mans circuit. The public was fantastic. I ended the race not too far off of Andrea, which is a positive thing. My goal was to end within one minute from the winner and I almost achieved it. We have to continue working and adapting to the MotoGP riding style, but I really liked working with this team and also racing the Suzuki machine in Le Mans. It’s like a dream come true for me.”
GP of FRANCE – Final classification after the race:
1. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 43’29.793
2. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – +3.134
3. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team – +7.717
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – +11.223
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda – +13.519
6. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – +24.002
7. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – +25.733
8. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – +32.603
9. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – +45.784
10. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – +48.332
11. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – +50.036
12. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +52.661
13. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +53.179
14. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – +55.432
15. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – +1’06.878
Riders World Championship Standing after the GP of France:
1. Maverick VIÑALES, Yamaha – 85
2. Dani PEDROSA, Honda – 68
3. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha – 62
4. Marc MARQUEZ, Honda – 58
5. Johann ZARCO, Yamaha – 55
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati – 54
7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Honda – 40
8. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati – 38
9. Jonas FOLGER, Yamaha – 38
10. Jack MILLER, Honda – 29
11. Danilo PETRUCCI, Ducati – 26
12. Scott REDDING, Ducati – 26
13. Loris BAZ, Ducati – 19
14. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia – 17
15. Andrea IANNONE, Suzuki – 15
16. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Ducati – 14
17. Tito RABAT, Honda – 13
18. Hector BARBERA, Ducati – 12
19. Karel ABRAHAM, Ducati – 9
20. Alex RINS, Suzuki – 7
21. Pol ESPARGARO, KTM – 6
22. Bradley SMITH, KTM – 6
23. Sam LOWES, Aprilia – 2
24. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Suzuki – 1
