Andrea Iannone: 16th – 1’47.649 / +0.723
Alex Rins: 17th – 1’47.804 / +0.878

Poor weather conditions affected Team SUZUKI ECSTAR´s attempt at a positive qualifying session with Andrea Iannone set in 16th place after the Q1 session and Alex Rins in 17th.

The rain welcoming the riders during the FP3 session made it impossible to improve times from yesterday and prevented them from getting a new chance to attempt direct access to Q2. Mixed weather also affected the FP4, with mechanics busy changing settings from dry to wet and vice versa several times in the 30-minute session. Ultimately, qualifying gave Iannone and Rins several attempts to get their ticket to Q2, but without success.

Iannone made a very good progress in wet conditions, managing to get a very encouraging 3rd place time, only 0.007s from the provisional leader. Unfortunately the lap was cancelled by the race management for exceeding the track limit, thereby resulting in his previous best time of 1’47.649 being used to place him 16th in the session.

Rins focused most on getting familiar with the GSX-RR in wet conditions, having only ridden a MotoGP machine once in similar conditions, in Argentina. For him this has been a day of apprenticeship, although his progress is positive and his condition is improving session by session.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“The rain complicated our day, making this morning impossible to compete for entry to the Q2. We had to go through the Q1 and this was tricky, as wet sessions are always a question mark. We did our best, Andrea had a very positive last lap which set him in 3rd place of the session – only 0.007s from the qualification to Q2, but then the lap was cancelled, so he was set back to 16th final overall. Alex had a very positive day as well, considering that he’s coming back after a very long break and today conditions were very complicated. He was able to pull off a good performance and all he needs now is to regain the feel for the MotoGP machine and fight. Starting from 16th and 17th place will not be easy, but we hope for some good weather and a positive race.”

Andrea Iannone
“I’m not happy to start from so far behind, because this complicates my race. My pace is good, maybe better than many riders I have in front of me. This means it will be a tough race. Yesterday I felt very good with the bike in the morning; I had good feeling. If tomorrow is dry, as it would appear, the warm-up will be very important because we will try out the improvements. We will also decide on the tyres for the race. If these ideas we have prove to be effective, then with a good start the race could be positive.”

Alex Rins
“I’m very happy about today because it has been too long time since I raced in these conditions. The last time was in Argentina, and I gained in confidence and rhythm. We did a good job yesterday and today, so whatever the weather tomorrow, we are pretty much prepared with a base setup. However, the first target is to get more experience on the machine and have a positive race.”

GP of The Netherlands – Qualifying classification:
1. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1’46.141
2. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team – 1’46.206 +0.065
3. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing – 1’46.526 +0.385
4. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1’46.705 +0.564
5. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing – 1’47.574 +1.433
6. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1’47.663 +1.522
7. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1’47.812 +1.671
8. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda – 1’48.042 +1.901
9. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – 1’48.079 +1.938
10. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’48.128 +1.987
11. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1’48.266 +2.125
12. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team – 1’49.623 +3.482
13. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1’47.217 (Q1)
14. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – 1’47.234 (Q1)
15. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’47.277 (Q1)
16. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’47.649 (Q1)
17. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’47.804 (Q1)
18. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1’47.947 (Q1)
19. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’47.957 (Q1)
20. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing – 1’48.080 (Q1)
21. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – 1’48.219 (Q1)
22. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’48.448 (Q1)
23. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1’48.700 (Q1)