Team Suzuki Press Office – September 22.
Andrea Iannone: 14th – 2’01.471 / +1.613
Alex Rins: 21st – 2’02.077 / +2.219
The unexpectedly inclement weather in Aragon complicated the working schedule of Team SUZUKI ECSTAR in the first day in Aragon. Andrea Iannone used his greater experience in wet conditions to his advantage ending in 14th place, while the younger Alex Rins is currently in 21st.
The whole day was affected by the weather, as the conditions were neither completely wet nor dry, effectively blocking all attempts to test the desired items and setups. Both Iannone and Rins were able to improve a little from morning to afternoon, but it was impossible to do proper testing of the improvements and new setups. The weather tomorrow is expected to be more consistent, which will likely lead to more effective work and a more solid classification.
Of particular note this weekend is the initiative of Alex Rins who is racing this Aragon GP with a special edition helmet, gloves, and boots. All in pink, they are dedicated to those fighting breast cancer. He will be wearing them throughout the entire weekend and later he will donate them for an auction to be held on October 19th, which is the International Day for the Fight Against Breast Cancer. All proceeds will be donated to the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC)
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“This has been a tough day as the weather conditions affected all of the work. We had some new solutions ready to be tried and we were curious to see, but we needed dry track for this and the pouring rain prevented our work. We turned the day into focusing on some development in wet conditions, but honestly we could not really explore very much as the conditions of the track were constantly changing. Andrea made improvements. He is still struggling with the setup and we can improve his braking. Alex had good feeling toward the end of the session, but he didn’t feel confident enough to push harder to get a better time. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be more consistent and allow for some more productive work.”
Andrea Iannone
“This was a day when it was very hard to figure anything out, as the track was neither wet nor dry. The classification is very strange. It took nothing to gain half a second and be in the top, or to lose three seconds and be in last. In these conditions we couldn’t really try anything, we just gave a shot to some setups, but right after three laps the tyres were already worn and so I couldn’t push. Let’s hope for better weather tomorrow so we are able to really start the weekend.”
Alex Rins
“This morning did not go well. There was no grip. The afternoon however, went much better, with good feeling and riding with rhythm on a regular basis. At the end of the session the track was very dry in some areas while in four of the corners it was totally wet. I think we have got a lot of information from this session to improve tomorrow. It has been a good day even though the result does not reflect it.”
GP of Aragon – Combined classification after Day 1:
1. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team – 1’59.858
2. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – 2’00.072 +0.214
3. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 2’00.320 +0.462
4. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team – 2’00.459 +0.601
5. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 2’00.471 +0.613
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda – 2’00.482 +0.624
7. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 2’00.585 +0.727
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – 2’00.962 +1.104
9. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 2’01.015 +1.157
10. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 2’01.042 +1.184
11. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 2’01.103 +1.245
12. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 2’01.149 +1.291
13. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 2’01.350 +1.492
14. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 2’01.471 +1.613
15. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 2’01.492 +1.634
16. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing – 2’01.516 +1.658
17. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 2’01.632 +1.774
18. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 2’01.745 +1.887
19. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing – 2’01.810 +1.952
20. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 2’01.917 +2.059
21. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 2’02.077 +2.219
22. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 2’02.392 +2.534
23. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – 2’02.677 +2.819
24. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing – 2’02.935 +3.077
