Team Suzuki Press Office – June 28.
Alex Rins: 5th – 1:33.305 (+ 0.667)
Joan Mir: 8th – 1:33.415 (+ 0.777)
• Alex Rins showing good early form in Holland.
• Joan Mir sticks close to his team-mate.
• Satisfactory Day 1 leaves Team ready for more.
Round 8 at the classic Assen track got underway in a positive mood for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR today as both Alex Rins and Joan Mir felt confident and ready for action.
A cool FP1 session saw Rins top the time sheets early on, and the Spaniard stayed among the top positions for the remainder of the track time. Rins ran a consistent pace and closed the session in 4th place, +0.514 from the top. Meanwhile, Mir didn’t take long to get a feel for the technically tricky track, he closed FP1 in 16th.
It was a similar story in FP2 as Alex was quick out of the blocks once again. As usual, he used a portion of the session to try different tyre combinations and bike settings, before dropping into the 1 minute 33 second lap-time bracket. He completed Friday with a 1:33.305, +0.667 from the top. Joan stayed within the Top 10 for the vast majority of the session, feeling comfortable and confident in most sections of the track. He finished 8th across the line, very close to his team-mate with a 1:33.415.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“It’s been a good start to the weekend, both Alex and Joan got into the Top 10 provisionally. Alex tried different tyres and different settings and his pace was good throughout. Joan also tried a few different things and he found a good set-up towards the end of the day. We want to continue like this and hold onto these Top 10 positions.”
Alex Rins:
“Today I focused on trying different tyres, as I often do on a Friday. We learnt a lot from that, so it was useful to spend time doing that today. This track suits our bike quite well, the long corners are great for us. At the moment we still need to work a bit on the anti-wheelie but in general my rhythm and feeling were good today.”
Joan Mir:
“I’m pretty happy with today, I’m in the Top 10 and the team are working really well, I was building up my confidence every time I went out on track. I still have a margin to improve but I’m really happy with my lap times today and I hope to stay close to the top tomorrow.”
GP of the Netherlands – Combined Classification after Day 1:
1. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’32.638 FP2
2. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’32.818 0.180 / 0.180 FP2
3. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati Team 1’32.952 0.314 / 0.134 FP2
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’33.223 0.585 / 0.271 FP2
5. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’33.305 0.667 / 0.082 FP2
6. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’33.355 0.717 / 0.050 FP2
7. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’33.413 0.775 / 0.058 FP2
8. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’33.415 0.777 / 0.002 FP2
9. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’33.517 0.879 / 0.102 FP2
10. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1’33.727 1.089 / 0.210 FP2
11. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 1’33.815 1.177 / 0.088 FP2
12. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing 1’33.854 1.216 / 0.039 FP2
13. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 1’33.874 1.236 / 0.020 FP2
14. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’33.963 1.325 / 0.089 FP2
15. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’33.971 1.333 / 0.008 FP2
16. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1’34.040 1.402 / 0.069 FP2
17. Johann ZARCO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’34.194 1.556 / 0.154 FP2
18. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1’34.370 1.732 / 0.176 FP2
19. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’34.537 1.899 / 0.167 FP2
20. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’34.628 1.990 / 0.091 FP2
21. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 1’35.250 2.612 / 0.622 FP2
NQ. Jorge LORENZO SPA Repsol Honda Team
