BUSY 2ND DAY OF TESTING FOR SUZUKI ECSTAR IN QATAR

Andrea Iannone - P13 - 1:55.545
Alex RINS - P18 - 1:56.110

The second day of testing at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar didn’t bring big improvements in the single lap time, but gave the riders and engineers the chance to try many solutions and get important information. Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins worked intensively today to explore different configurations that could allow them to find a positive performance towards the race.

Iannone’s focus stayed fixed on developing the set-up and electronic configuration, the sort of low-profile job that hopefully will pay back as preparation for the race. He is still encountering a lack of sensitivity with the front end, which has been investigated by the team and is still under evaluation in order to find some solutions.

Positive progress was also made by Rins. He was able to finalise some better set-ups that allowed him to feel more confident on the bike and he also tried the new fairing again that had already been introduced in Australia. The result of all this work done by the riders is the collection of an important amount of data that will be useful to the engineers.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“Today has been a busy day, let’s say. We had to test many things. At the end, we couldn’t put everything together and we still have some things to be fixed. Andrea is still struggling with the feeling of the front of the bike, but we have already worked on some ideas and we still have some others; as well as in the electronics, we have room to improve. We already made some steps forward, but we couldn’t find the ‘full package.’ His ideal time is better than the actual position, but we couldn’t get a good one for the classification. Alex, as well, is struggling with the front end. He wasn’t able to perform as he wanted; although we made some improvements with him as well. We have some ideas. Some of them we applied today and some others are still in the works. We still need some time to put everything together and finalise a solid performance.”

Andrea Iannone - P13 - 1:55.545:

“Despite the position in the classification, we can be positive, especially if thinking forward to the race. We have made some important improvements compared to yesterday, but these are mainly on the pace. Indeed, I was able to do all my best laps with worn tyres, which is a good sign for the consistency, but I’m still struggling with the single lap efficiency. When I put on a new tyre for some reason, I cannot be as effective as I’d like, and this prevents me from doing a very fast time attack. For example, in the last attempts I’d been as fast as some top riders until T3, but then in the last sector I lost nearly 0.5s from my own best time. This is because I feel a lack of confidence with the front of the bike and so I cannot be effective in the last corners of the fourth sector. We have a lot of grip at the rear, which consequently pushes a lot to the front. We are working on this, but it’s a job that requires much patience and many attempts to find the effective compromise. I’m confident we will be able to make some improvements tomorrow.”

Alex Rins - P18 - 1:56.110:

“The truth is that this day has been positive. We were able to try many things and got some important information. I also tried to push harder to find the limit, and I didn’t incur any crashes, and this is really positive. For sure we still need to improve and get a better performance on the lap time. Tomorrow we will have to be very focused and finalise all the modifications we have tried in order to put together a competitive package. Also, the pace is good as I stayed in the 1.56 bracket.”

QATAR TEST – Combined classification after Day 2:

1. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:54.455 – In Session 2
2. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – 1:54.732 +0.277 – In Session 2
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team – 1:54.819 +0.364 – In Session 1
4. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:54.917 +0.462 – In Session 2
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda 1:55.032 +0.577 – In Session 2
6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1:55.121 +0.666 – In Session 2
7. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team – 1:55.196 +0.741 – In Session 2
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1:55.245 +0.790 – In Session 2
9. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team – 1:55.344 +0.889 – In Session 2
10. Scott REDDING, Octo Pramac Racing – 1:55.353 +0.898 – In Session 2
11. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 1:55.354 +0.899 – In Session 2
12. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team – 1:55.420 +0.965 – In Session 2
13. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:55.545 +1.090 – In Session 2
14. Danilo PETRUCCI, Octo Pramac Racing – 1:55.680 +1.225 – In Session 2
15. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team – 1:55.692 +1.237 – In Session 1
16. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing – 1:55.808 +1.353 – In Session 2
17. Jack MILLER Marc, VDS Racing Team – 1:56.017 +1.562 – In Session 1
18. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1:56.110 +1.655 – In Session 2
19. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS – 1:56.214 +1.759 – In Session 2
20. Sam LOWES Aprilia, Racing Team Gresini – 1:56.276 +1.821 – In Session 2
21. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:56.648 +2.193 – In Session 2
22. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:57.267 +2.812 – In Session 2
23. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:57.688 +3.233 – In Session 2