Team Suzuki Press Office – May 19.
Andrea Iannone: P11 – 1’41.562(+4.095) in FP1/P5 – 1’42.078 (+0.405) in FP2/P11 in combined classification
Sylvain Guintoli: P20 1’42.891 (+5.424) in FP1/P16 – 1’44.572 (+2.899) in FP2/P20 in combined classification
There were positive vibes for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR after first day at the French GP. Andrea Iannone managed to improve his feel on the GSX-RR, and had two positive sessions; placing 11th in this morning’s mixed weather session and 5th in the afternoon with heavy rain falling. The debutant Sylvain Guintoli improved as well and went from P20 to P16, reducing his gap by nearly 2 and a half seconds.
Weather conditions affected the day and in particular the morning session. With the track starting off wet at the beginning of the 45 minute session, it later went on to dry up, leaving many riders on rain tyres and others switching to higher performing slick tyres.
In these conditions Iannone was able to focus on looking for improvement with the wet setup, but was not able to take advantage of the slick tyres for a proper time attack at the end of the session. The result left him out of the top ten by just 0.255 seconds. The rain that fell in the afternoon made track conditions more congruent to wet tyres, allowing riders to focus on specific setups, and Andrea was able to improve his performance, ending in 5th.
Guintoli is still learning the potential of the (for him) relatively new Michelin tyres and the behaviour of the GSX-RR in wet conditions. His improvements have been solid, and he managed get closer to the top 15.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We had a positive day of work today. With Andrea today, we worked positively and he was able to make many good laps that gave us important information for the continuation, as we have the direction in which to work tomorrow. He was able to improve step by step and and finished in 5th place in full wet conditions, just half second slower than the morning in full dry conditions, which is not bad at all. The only bitter note of the day is that this morning we missed the top ten by just a little bit. He worked the whole session with wet tyres and couldn’t attempt a time attack run with slick tyres, but for the moment we can consider ourselves to be happy because of the work we’ve done and the information we’ve collected. They will be very useful to further improve. Sylvain made a very positive debut as well with our GSX-RR. He is consistently making progress and he better understands how the bike performs, and he is getting closer and closer to the fastest riders.”
Andrea Iannone
“My feelings are not bad at all, since this morning I have had a positive feeling. Last time in wet conditions, in Austin, we struggled a lot more than here. While here, I already feel we are a lot better. Since Jerez we started to improve consistently and this positive path gave me more confidence to perform better. I’m very happy to see that we work better and better. Maybe with a little more time we could also be in a better position in the classification, but for now the important thing is to have improved.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“Today has been another learning day for me, only the second time for me on this GSX-RR and in very variable conditions. Today for me was all about getting the feeling with the tyres and the bike in wet conditions, and I felt good. We managed to improve the pace step by step, and towards the end of the second session I could start to feel the limits, which means I’m getting on point. We need to carry on improving on the pace, but I am already faster than some other guys, so for the moment I can call myself happy.”
GP of FRANCE – Combined classification after Day 1:
1. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1’37.467
2. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team – 1’38.755 +1.288
3. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1’39.248 +1.781
4. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda – 1’39.607 +2.140
5. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – 1’40.427 +2.960
6. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1’40.528 +3.061
7. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’40.817 +3.350
8. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1’40.894 +3.427
9. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1’41.024 +3.557
10. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1’41.307 +3.840
11. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’41.562 +4.095
12. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1’41.644 +4.177
13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – 1’41.673 +4.206
14. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team – 1’41.854 +4.387
15. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing – 1’41.887 +4.420
16. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing – 1’41.925 +4.458
17. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – 1’41.947 +4.480
18. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1’42.094 +4.627
19. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’42.243 +4.776
20. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’42.891 +5.424
21. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing – 1’42.953 +5.486
22. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’43.114 +5.647
23. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’43.519 +6.0
