Team Suzuki Press Office – March 26th.
Alex Rins: 5th – 1’53.623 (+ 0.236)
Joan Mir: 11. – 1’53.914 (+ 0.527)
The Suzuki Ecstar team and the MotoGP field attended the Losail Circuit in Qatar on Friday to complete the first training sessions of the 2021 season.
The track conditions were difficult for the FP1: ground temperatures reached 60 degrees Celsius and dust provided poor grip. Even so, the riders quickly got down to work customizing their bikes. Joan Mir and Alex Rins finished this session fifth and seventh, respectively.
As night fell around the circuit there was a lot of pressure to find the feel and set a quick time, with tomorrow’s RP3 likely to take place in less favorable conditions. Both Rins and Mir opted for the soft-soft tire combination and went to work trying to find a rhythm before there was a slight interruption because a red flag was waving over debris on the track. After the session restarted, both Suzuki drivers pushed to cut their lap times and the FP2 session became very competitive.
Rins and Mir dropped their lap times and made it into the top 10. However, as the action picked up, Mir slipped to 11th – although only half a second from the top – while Rins stayed in fifth.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“We finally started the season here after good tests. Today we worked on settings and then tried to set the lap times during FP2 as tomorrow’s conditions look difficult. So our two drivers have been focusing on the lap times and even though Joan missed the top 10, he still has a good pace. Alex did a great job and he finished fifth. So we’re looking forward to tomorrow and hope for a good qualifying. “
Alex Rins:
“Today was a good day, we achieved our goal and set a good lap time. I’ve also improved my time here compared to the test so I’m happy. Tomorrow’s qualifying seems to be interesting and so does the race, the times are close with a lot of fast drivers! So we’ll keep working hard and trying to keep improving. “
Joan Mir:
“It was a difficult day and I think the absence of the last day of testing affected our performance here as we still had to adjust a few things on the bike to be a little more competitive. We were pretty strong at times, but there is still a lot to do. The main thing is that we know where we can improve in the coming days. “
BARWA GRAND PRIX OF QATAR – Combined classification according to TAG1:
1. J. MILLER – Ducati Lenovo Team – 01: 53.387
2. F. BAGNAIA – Ducati Lenovo Team – 01: 53.422 +0.035
3. F. QUARTARARO – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01: 53.575 +0.188
4. J. ZARCO – Pramac Racing – 01: 53.586 +0.199
5. A. RINS – Team Suzuki Ecstar – 01: 53.623 +0.236
6. M. VIÑALES – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01: 53.639 +0.252
7. F. MORBIDELLI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 01: 53.676 +0.289
8. A. ESPARGARO – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01: 53.727 +0.340
9. V. ROSSI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 01: 53.874 +0.487
10. P. ESPARGARO – Repsol Honda Team – 01: 53.901 +0.514
11. J. MIR – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 01: 53.914 +0.527
12. A. MARQUEZ – LCR Honda CASTROL – 01: 54.115 +0.728
13. J. MARTIN – Pramac Racing – 01: 54.178 +0.791
14. T. NAKAGAMI – LCR Honda IDEMITSU – 01: 54.199 +0.812
15. E. BASTIANINI – Esponsorama Racing – 01: 54.228 +0.841
16. B. BINDER – Red Bull KTM factory race – 01: 54.371 +0.984
17. L. MARINI – SKY VR46 Esponsorama – 01: 54.432 +1.045
18. S. BRADL – Repsol Honda Team – 01: 54.634 +1.247
19th M. OLIVEIRA – Red Bull KTM factory race – 01: 54.756 +1.369
20th D. PETRUCCI – Tech 3 KTM factory race – 01: 54.774 +1.387
21st I. LECUONA – Tech 3 KTM factory race – 01: 55.098 +1.711
22. L. SAVADORI – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01: 55.674 +2.287