Team Suzuki Press Office – May 31.
Alex Rins: 7th – 1:47.167 (+ 0.435)
Joan Mir: 15th – 1:47.579 (+ 0.847)
• Alex Rins confident as he clocks top speed.
• Joan Mir learning the feel of Mugello.
• Team ready to push on Saturday.
The legendary circuit of Mugello welcomed the riders for Friday morning’s FP1, and they were rewarded with an incredibly tight session where the top 18 riders were covered by less than one second. Rins placed 11th at the end of FP1, just 0.671 from the top. Debutant Joan Mir was learning the fast curves of the Italian track on his GSX-RR and he closed the session in 19th place.
The tight times continued in the afternoon’s FP2 session, which also saw the top 18 covered by a second. After using the majority of the session to adjust settings, including trying different tyre options, both Rins and Mir showed some good form, improving on their morning lap times. Alex took the flag in 7th, 0.435 from the top, he was the fastest rider through sector 3 and the second fastest through sector 4. Joan closed Friday in 15th and was 0.847 off.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Overall it’s been a good start to the weekend, Alex is already in the Top 10 and we worked well today – there’s still room for improvement, but we’re happy with this start. Joan also had a pretty good day, his speed is good but we’re still working on the last sector, we’ll try and improve the bike and hope for good results tomorrow.”
Alex Rins
“Today went well, and I’m provisionally in Q2. I tried some tyres today and I found that I liked both the hard and the medium front. I’m not doing anything differently to Le Mans, but I feel much better here, and my times are better. Setting the fast lap was exciting, I was behind Dovizioso on that lap, and it was nice to get 350 kilometres per hour. Compared to last year we’ve improved on top speed, but also in other areas such as cornering.”
Joan Mir
“I’m pleased with the work done today; I’ve improved a lot. We’ve approached this first day in a calm way, just learning and understanding the best lines and the best way with the bike. I’m losing around six tenths in the last sector, so if we can improve that part of the track then I’ll be able to fight near the front. My aim is to get directly into Q2 tomorrow.”
GP of Italy – Combined Classification after Day 1:
1. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 1’46.732 (FP2)
2. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’46.778 0.046 / 0.046 (FP2)
3. Danilo PETRUCCI Mission Winnow Ducati 1’46.863 0.131 / 0.085 (FP2)
4. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’46.966 0.234 / 0.103 (FP2)
5. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’46.973 0.241 / 0.007 (FP2)
6. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’47.062 0.330 / 0.089 (FP2)
7. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’47.167 0.435 / 0.105 (FP2)
8. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1’47.170 0.438 / 0.003 (FP2)
9. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 1’47.185 0.453 / 0.015 (FP2)
10. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’47.268 0.536 / 0.083 (FP2)
11. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Mission Winnow Ducati 1’47.347 0.615 / 0.079 (FP2)
12. Johann ZARCO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’47.419 0.687 / 0.072 (FP2)
13. Michele PIRRO Mission Winnow Ducati 1’47.421 0.689 / 0.002 (FP2)
14. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1’47.483 0.751 / 0.062 (FP2)
15. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’47.579 0.847 / 0.096 (FP2)
16. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’47.612 0.880 / 0.033 (FP2)
17. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1’47.686 0.954 / 0.074 (FP2)
18. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’47.726 0.994 / 0.040 (FP2)
19. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’47.887 1.155 / 0.161 (FP2) 20. Jorge LORENZO Repsol Honda Team 1’48.114 1.382 / 0.227 (FP2)
21. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing 1’48.146 1.414 / 0.032 (FP2)
22. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’48.496 1.764 / 0.350 (FP2)
23. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’48.914 2.182 / 0.418 (FP2)
