In Qatar, all manufacturers are testing new things for 2021, but there is one who looks even further into the future until next year. In fact, Suzuki brought a new engine to Losail, which cannot be used this season due to the development halt, but in 2022. Nevertheless, Suzuki tested it first with test driver Guintoli and today with Alex Rins.
“It was the most important thing today. The character is pretty similar to the current one, but the top speed has improved and that’s what we wanted. I noticed some other little things too, but I can’t tell you, ”the Spaniard smiled.
Alex finished the day tenth fastest and maybe that’s his only regret …
“Unfortunately I was a bit unlucky – he said – the first new soft tire I fitted had strange behavior, it slipped a lot, while with the second I found a slower driver and made a mistake when I passed him. I would not do it.” I was the first, but certainly closer to the best. However, it’s been two days of positive tests, we’ve got a lot of things to try and I certainly won’t be bored of racing here for another three days. “
The next tests will also be useful to understand what values are on the line, but we may have to wait a little longer to have clear ideas.
“We’ll see a lot of drivers close together, but I think the differences in these first two races in Qatar will be very small. We have to wait for the next Grand Prix to see everyone’s level. ” Kidneys commented.
Unlike his teammate, Joan Mir didn’t test the new engine. “I’ll do it in the next few tests,” he explained, focusing instead on the chassis.
“I used the new frame – said the world champion – There are positive things and other negative things, but it’s not a revolution. It handles better, but we lost something when braking. We still have to work on it and see if we can solve the problems by responding to the attitude. We still have 3 days to do this. In general, not much has changed on the Suzuki. The important thing is to improve the details and make progress in the flight lap, even if I didn’t focus very much on this area today. “
However, I ended up with the 8th fastest time.
“I’m pretty happy, I’m not far from the best. It was a great test and we have a good base. “ he concluded.