Team Suzuki Press Office – June 4.
Andrea Iannone: 10th place, +15.502
Sylvain Guintoli: 17th place, +46.294
Race day at Mugello marked positive improvements for both Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders, with Andrea Iannone finishing in 10th and Sylvain Guintoli finishing in 17th. Apart from the results, what leaves the Team more confident and positive is the feedback received by the riders and their capability to do battle in the pack.
After a positive warm-up (3rd), Iannone was able to maintain a competitive pace in the race and to recover some places while fighting it out with top riders. His performance allowed him to be well into the top ten for most of the race, and it was only towards the end when he gave up some tenths of seconds on the pace. This is one of the issues the team is currently looking into and analysing.
Guintoli had an especially positive race with the GSX-RR. This marks his second opportunity with the Team to contend with MotoGP riders in a race, and he demonstrated that he could make a comeback from his position. The Frenchman is finding more and more confidence and feeling with the bike, and the team is benefitting from his experiences and his capability to make clear and precise reports to the engineers.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager
“Compared to yesterday, I can say that today we got a good result. Andrea’s 10th place may appear similar to Le Mans, but in reality it was much different. This weekend we were able to find a variety of aspects on which to improve for him. My feeling is that we can take some further steps for improvement soon. Today he kept a very good pace for the first part of the race and then his rhythm dropped. However, we were able understand how this can be improved. After the Cataluña GP we will be testing many elements of the bike in order to improve acceleration and traction. Sylvain had a positive weekend as well; he improved considerably from Friday to Sunday. He was finally able to race along with other riders and this was a tremendous improvement. Also his comments are always precise and sharp, which is very helpful to us. I really appreciated the work he’s done today.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“I think this has been a very positive race for us and I see it as a milestone on our path to growth. It’s a tenth place like at Le Mans, but it felt completely different. Andrea fought with the fastest riders and kept the gap short from the leading group. He made an extremely beneficial leap forward at the beginning of the race, successfully converting 16th place to 9th place by the first corner. He maintained the same pace as the leaders for many laps. Then his performance dropped towards the end, but we already have ideas on how to improve this issue, and it is better that we immediately go to Barcelona where we will double-check them. It seems like we were able to achieve a better feeling between the bike and the rider, and this is the most positive thing to take away from the weekend. Sylvain had an excellent race; he was able to recover positions, and fight and overtake finally. This means his feeling is improving. “
Andrea Iannone
“I’m satisfied with the first part of the race. I was able to recover, overtake, and fight. Later when the tyre performance dropped, the bike changed its behaviour and I struggled to manage the situation at that time. I likewise struggled with the braking and with the cornering speed; this last one is one of the strengths of my GSX-RR, but when the tyres drop the situation changes. This is something we are working on, this race itself gave us information and ideas to work on. It’s sad for me not having a better performance at a circuit like Mugello, because I’ve grown accustomed to being very, very competitive here. The qualifying also affected the race result. Anyway we are working hard; we already have some ideas, and I hope in Barcelona we will make some more solid improvements.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“This has been a stronger race than at Le Mans. I’m happy about this. I was able to fight in the race, overtake, battle, and finish the race lapping consistently with nearly the same time as in the beginning. I’m still adapting to the MotoGP class, and I’m happy for today; we reduced the gap from the leader and this makes the race a positive one for me. Day after day I feel the GSX-RR becoming “more mine”. Now I can enjoy overtaking, feeling the power of the engine, and basically have fun, which is the best way to achieve positive results. “
GP of Italy – Race Result:
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – 41’32.126
2. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – +1.281
3. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing – +2.334
4. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – +3.685
5. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – +5.802
6. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team – +5.885
7. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – +13.205
8. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – +14.393
9. Michele PIRRO, Ducati Team – +14.880
10. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – +15.502
11. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – +22.004
12. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing – +24.952
13. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – +28.160
14. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing – +30.676
15. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – +30.779
16. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – +42.306
17. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – +46.294
18. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – +50.731
19. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – +50.740
20. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +50.897
Riders World Championship classification after the Italian GP:
1. Maverick VIÑALES – Yamaha – 105
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO – Ducati – 79
3. Valentino ROSSI – Yamaha – 75
4. Marc MARQUEZ – Honda – 68
5. Dani PEDROSA – Honda – 68
6. Johann ZARCO – Yamaha – 64
7. Jorge LORENZO – Ducati – 46
8. Danilo PETRUCCI – Ducati – 42
9. Jonas FOLGER – Yamaha – 41
10. Cal CRUTCHLOW – Honda – 40
11. Scott REDDING – Ducati – 30
12. Jack MILLER – Honda – 30
13. Alvaro BAUTISTA – Ducati – 25
14. Andrea IANNONE – Suzuki – 21
15. Loris BAZ – Ducati – 19
16. Tito RABAT – Honda – 18
17. Aleix ESPARGARO – Aprilia – 17
18. Hector BARBERA – Ducati – 14
19. Karel ABRAHAM – Ducati – 9
20. Michele PIRRO – Ducati – 7
21. Alex RINS – Suzuki – 7
22. Pol ESPARGARO – KTM – 6
23. Bradley SMITH – KTM – 6
24. Sam LOWES – Aprilia – 2
25. Sylvain GUINTOLI – Suzuki – 1
