Team Suzuki Press Office – Sept 19. The last one of a long series of European rounds, the upcoming Aragon GP is expected to be the last deep breath before the long dive into to the fly-aways (Thailand, Japan, Australia and Malaysia). But not only that, it is also expected to be a very emotional one for Alex Rins, whose hometown is very close to Alcañiz, and we therefore expect a lot of fans for Suzuki’s number 42.
The strong performance in Misano just two weeks ago gives Rins a further push for a good home race, not just due to the great 4th place he achieved in the race, but also the big improvement he was capable of throughout the weekend in Italy. The good pace shown in the recent races together with the positive test done by the team a few weeks ago at the central Spanish circuit gives Rins positivity and the hope of improving last year’s result at his home track. In addition, Aragon’s layout – a fast and flowing one – is favoured by the young Spaniard.
Despite having missed the private test done by Team SUZUKI ECSTAR in Aragon a few weeks ago (due to an imperfect physical condition) Andrea Iannone is confident for a good weekend, where he can take advantage of the recent improvements and the enthusiasm for the last European race before the Asian tour. Being a fast and technical track, Motorland Aragon is a good one for the Italian, and pretty well suited to his GSX-RR too.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We arrive in Aragon after a solid performance in Misano where Alex took a good 4th place and Andrea showed consistent and fast pace. We were able to prepare for this race at a test we did a month ago with Alex and Sylvain, which gave us some positive hints and I hope we can take profit of the discoveries we made. We are getting into a very hot and hectic final part of the season, the four fly-aways will be very demanding for the riders and the team, so it is important to continue our positive trend in this last European race before the season closer in Valencia. That way we’ll get an injection of extra enthusiasm and trust that will help us for the long month abroad.”
Andrea Iannone
“I’m happy to go racing in Aragon because Motorland has a layout that I like, and I also think it can be a positive one for our GSX-RR. We are in a positive trend so I hope we won’t encounter any issues and we can have a smooth weekend. Unfortunately I missed the two days of testing that the Team did here last month because I was not in a perfect physical condition, but Alex and Sylvain managed to collect important information that will help the whole team to be well prepared for this race, and hopefully having missed that chance will not be a big issue.”
Alex Rins
“I’m very excited for this next race in Aragon as it will be my true home GP and I will have a lot of friends around me that will give me a further push. We were able to test here a few weeks ago and the outcome was very positive, we have important data to work on and a good base to start from. Lately we are working on our capability to work consistently and effectively in the race preparation, starting on the right foot since the very beginning of the weekend, so we will continue on this path. The Misano race taught us once again that the start is crucial, so improving our performance in qualifying is something that can help a lot. Let’s see how this race will be, the layout is very nice and good for our bike, I will do my best to get a good result, for the team and also for fans of me and of Suzuki.”
Circuit Info:
The Motorland Circuit in Aragon is a modern facility that was remodelled in 2010 to fulfil the safety and facility standards requested by the MotoGP™ organisation. The origins of the Grand Prix have their roots in the history of street racing in Alcañiz and the circuit has hosted events throughout the years between 1963 and 2003. Eventually it was modernised by the renowned German circuit architect Hermann Tilke.
The track is 5.077km (3.16 miles) long and has 17 turns: 10 left-handers and 7 right-handers. The longest straight is 968 m (3175.85 ft.) and the Grand Prix will be raced over 23 laps, which corresponds to a total length of 116.8 km or 72.7 miles.
2017 Stats
ANDREA IANNONE
Qualifying: 10th – 1’48.289 +0.654
Race: 12th – +20.632
ALEX RINS
Qualifying: 20th – 1’49.233 (Q1)
Race: 17th – +31.874
