I didn’t make it straight from practice to the second quarter in the first three laps of the 2021 season, but made it to Jerez for the first time.
The Suzuki rider had a provisional front row position in a phase of the second quarter, but was relegated to 10th place by the checkered flag – but only 0.198 seconds ahead of policeman Fabio Quartararo on the Yamaha.
Tells me that he couldn’t improve his lap on the second soft tire he used at the end of practice and doesn’t understand why, but he feels like he took a step at a single lap pace.
However, he admits that the Suzuki’s main problem is not getting the most out of soft tires.
Joan Mir, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I think our qualifying wasn’t bad,” said Mir.
“I couldn’t improve the lap time on the second exit, which I don’t understand.
“We have to look, but I think that in this case I took a step to get a quick lap. It’s clear.
“I’m tenth in qualifying, but after me there is a difference to the others. That means I’m getting closer.
“So we’re doing a good job of improving the electronics in a good way and using the bike in a good way to try and use a little more tires.
“The problem is not solved, we are far from solving this problem.
“I can’t say more than that, we have to improve further in qualifying. The good thing is that I feel good about the race again. “
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Teammate Alex Rins qualified in ninth place with a 0.030 second lead, but couldn’t improve any further as his second tire squeezed the front of his Suzuki too hard when braking in the second quarter.
“Well, qualifying was like that,” said Rins.
“The day was good, we did a good RP3 and went straight to the second quarter with everything that’s so close.
“Then I was able to drive a good pace in RP4, but I was trying to figure out what the limit was and I made a small mistake. I lost the front and fell.
“For qualifying, I was fully motivated to set a good lap time.
“The first tire was okay, I was able to drive faster than in FP3, but then the second rear tire pushed a lot and not 100% confidence forward.
“Maybe it takes away the feeling of improving the lap time.”