Andrea Iannone: 13th / 1:39.654 / +1.019
Takuya Tsuda: 18th / 1:40.163 / +1.528
Sylvain Guintoli: 23rd / 1:41.260 / +2.625
Team Suzuki Press Office – May 8. – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR completed the day of official IRTA test in Jerez de la Frontera, with three riders involved on the factory GSX-RR’s: Andrea Iannone, Takuya Tsuda and Sylvain Guintoli.
The day was positive one, as the Engineers could revise the last feedback collected in the first four races and test many things both in the setup and the electronics.
The Team will stay in Jerez tomorrow for an additional day of private testing, where Iannone will have the chance to further test the new configurations and Guintoli will exploit some more kilometres aboard the GSX-RR in preparation for the Le Mans race in two weeks’ time. Test rider Tsuda will not take part at tomorrow’s test.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“It’s been quite a busy day as we had three riders that used 5 bikes, which gave us the possibility to try many things. Finally, we could find much information and hopefully find a direction to work that seems to be effective. I want to thank very much Andrea and Tsuda, they did a massive amount of work. We also had Sylvain joining us and although he could run only a couple of hours, his lap time was not bad at all, so we are looking forward to test again tomorrow with him and then see him in action in Le Mans. Still we have a lot of work to do tomorrow, we are trying different setup configurations specifically to improve the feeling with the bike and the drive speed. Some things proved to be good, others were bad, and this gave us a clearer idea of the direction to take. We are also introducing some new ideas for the electronics and Andrea seemed to be happy with the progresses.”
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“We did a very intense day of work today, both Andrea and Tsuda ran more than 90 laps each which allowed us to try many things. One thing was to test the Michelin front tyre, just like every other team did and we liked it. In case Michelin will decide to keep it as an option we would be positive about this. Then with Andrea we wanted to take a breath in a more calm situation as a test is to explore all the possibilities we have with the setting and balancing, and we managed to make a positive work. We collected much information, we could make many back-to-back tests and compare different configurations. The same we did with the electronics, we saw some small improvements. Tomorrow we will continue this work trying to check some more ideas we still have and finally put everything together to create an effective package for Le Mans. Also with Sylvain we started the preparation for the race, today he could run 37 laps as a first touch of our GSX-RR and the Michelin tyres, there are so many new things he has to adapt to. Tomorrow he will stay with us and he will have available for him the whole crew, since the mechanics today had to split between Sylvain and Tsuda. It’s going be a full day for him, but he’s getting back to MotoGP in his home grand prix so I’m sure that he is eager to get as ready as he can just as much as we are to put him in the best conditions for a positive race.”
Andrea Iannone:
“Today we could focus on many different setup configurations and I’m pretty satisfied because we could find a positive direction to continue the development. My feeling is that this one has been one of the most positive tests I’ve ever done with Suzuki, it’s been very intense and productive, we really tested so many things and I’m satisfied. We could explore new configurations with the balance of the bike that made me feel more confident. Also, we tried the Michelin front tyre: I like it, although to be honest I was expecting a bigger improvement. I feel better, but not that much better. We are also working on the electronics but we need some patience, for the moment we are more focusing on the rideability of the bike, on my feeling, and step-by-step we are getting there.”
Takuya Tsuda:
“As I had a chance to experience a MotoGP race for the first time in my life, it had changed my idea a lot and I could find a lot of information which I would never found if I didn’t experience the race. The test today was definitely more efficient ever and I’m sure that I will have different ideas of approach for the further development of GSX-RR. I’m happy that I had improved my qualifying time today and could also keep the good pace more consistently, and I’m confident that I can do a much better race if I start the race weekend tomorrow. I would like to thank Team SUZUKI ECSTAR for giving me this wonderful opportunity and I believe this experience will also help to improve my performance in Japan for the All Japan Championship.”
Sylvain Guintoli:
“This day was even better than I expected. The feeling with a MotoGP bike is something difficult to explain, it’s unique, and this Suzuki GSX-RR is just fantastic. For me today was only a few laps to understand how the bike behaves, and also to try to understand the Michelin tyres which I haven’t ridden since 2002, so quite a big time. I felt good, we managed to improve the lap time step-by-step and I literally can’t wait for tomorrow to keep improving the feeling and work with this fantastic bike and crew. The engine is so fast and so smooth, I’m impressed. Now I have also to work on my riding style because looking at the data it looks like I’m already strong in braking and acceleration, but I can improve the feeling with entrance and cornering speed. It’s pretty normal as it’s a completely different machine from the one I’m used to race, I was expecting this but honestly I was expecting also my gap from the top to be much bigger, but instead I’m not so far.”
Jerez IRTA Test – Classification:
1. VIÑALES, Maverick, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:38.635 – 23 / 84
2. MARQUEZ, Marc, Repsol Honda Team – 1:38.637 – +0.002 – 26 / 96
3. PEDROSA, Dani, Repsol Honda Team – 1:38.716 – +0.081 – 48 / 52
4. ESPARGARO, Aleix, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:38.999 – +0.364 – 12/69
5. DOVIZIOSO, Andrea, Ducati Team – 1:39.030 – +0.395 – 27 / 44
6. LORENZO, Jorge, Ducati Team – 1:39.124 – +0.489 – 4/50
7. CRUTCHLOW, Cal, LCR Honda – 1:39.319 – +0.684 – 19 / 70
8. BARBERA, Hector, Reale Avintia Racing – 1:39.460 – +0.825 – 59 / 60
9. ZARCO, Johann, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:39.528 – +0.893 – 5/42
10. REDDING, Scott, OCTO Pramac Racing – 1:39.536 – +0.901 – 50 / 61
11. MILLER, Jack, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1:39.548 – +0.913 – 29 / 86
12. RABAT, Tito, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1:39.576 – +0.941 – 28 / 71
13. IANNONE, Andrea, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:39.654 – +1.019 – 92 / 92
14. FOLGER, Jonas, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:39.797 – +1.162 – 4/49
15. PETRUCCI, Danilo, OCTO Pramac Racing – 1:39.879 – +1.244 – 8/57
16. ESPARGARO, Pol, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:39.959 – +1.324 – 7/64
17. SMITH, Bradley, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:40.111 – +1.476 – 4/46
18. TSUDA, Takuya, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:40.163 – +1.528 – 93 / 95
19. BAZ, Loris, Reale Avintia Racing – 1:40.377 – +1.742 – 57 / 58
20. KALLIO, Mika, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:40.382 – +1.747 – 18 / 76
21. ROSSI, Valentino, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:40.463 – +1.828 – 22 / 62
22. LOWES, Sam, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:40.572 – +1.937 – 54 / 64
23. GUINTOLI, Sylvain, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:41.260 – +2.625 – 30 / 37
