Team Suzuki Press Office – May 2nd.
GREAT PRICE RED BULL FROM SPAIN
MotoGP racing classification:
Joan Mir: 5th (+4,256)
Alex Rins: 20th (+ 38,234)
Round four of the 2021 MotoGP ™ World Championship kicked off at the classic Spanish circuit of Jerez, and race day held many surprises in store. The riders of the Suzuki Ecstar team used the morning warm-up to optimize their GSX RRs and showed their constant pace again before the 25-lap race.
Joan Mir and Alex Rins got off to a good start from their top 10 spots, finishing in seventh and ninth, and quickly moving up to sixth and seventh. The pair seemed likely to continue their fight across the field, with Rins in particular looking to make a move. Unfortunately, on the third lap of the race after a twitch and a wide line, Rins lost the front of his bike and retired. Fortunately, he was okay and could join the race well – even though his air fairing had been damaged. He used the rest of the race to gather useful data and finished 20th.
Meanwhile, Mir struggled to hold onto sixth place, which he did well. Then he did personal rounds, put himself in a solid position and kept the bottom group in check behind him. On lap 19 he overtook Fabio Quartararo and finished in a nice fifth place. After spending a few laps chasing Takaaki Nakagami with the clock running, he decided to settle for fifth place and score solid points.
The Suzuki Ecstar team will be back on track tomorrow for a one-day test in Jerez.
Shinichi Sahara – Project Leader and Team Leader:
“In the warm-up session this morning we evaluated the tire options and decided that Joan would use the soft front and Alex the middle front and that choice wasn’t bad. Joan got off to a good start and did well in the race. In the end she took 5th place. Maybe he could have gotten a better position with a few more laps, but we’ll never find out. It was a shame that Alex crashed at Turn 6, mainly because he had a strong pace even after his return and had podium potential. Let’s learn from today and try again next time. “
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“We got stronger on this track and, despite the qualifying positions, we had hopes for the podium for our drivers, but unfortunately it wasn’t going to be that way. Joan was very patient and consistent and he got a nice 5th place, so we want to thank him for the sensible ride. Alex was also on the podium so it was a shame for him to have the crash. We’ll look at what happened and then start working for the next few races. Overall, I am happy with the way we are proceeding. “
Joan Mir:
“Of course I expected more from this race, but I gave 100%. It is easy to say now, “Maybe we should have changed this or that,” but the reality is that you will never know if those things would have helped. After all, I was competitive and fought for the podium, and I wasn’t far from it, so I’m happy with the work here in Jerez. This is not the best track for us and the hot conditions also made it more difficult, but I’m happy to get the points for 5th place and we’ll try to improve again at Le Mans and hope to do that Season to get some stronger results next race. “
Alex Rins:
“Today’s crash was a shame, it was really bad luck. There’s a bump on this corner and it’s usually not a big problem, but with the full fuel tank it felt pretty bad and then the rear got off, I released the brakes, braked again and went far – that’s where I lost the front one on the dirty part offline. But even though I lost part of the aero fairing, I returned, had a good pace and actually felt very good. I was faster than the leading group. I’m really sorry for the whole team, which, as always, worked very hard. Let’s keep working for the next races and I hope I can qualify a lot better so that I can be at the top and stay there. “
GRAND PRISE RED BULL DE ESPAÑA – MotoGP race classification:
1 Jack MILLER Ducati Lenovo Team 41’05.602
2 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati Lenovo Team +1,912
3 Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT +2,516
4 Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU +3,206
5 Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +4,256
6 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +5,164
7 Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +5,651
8 Johann ZARCO Pramac Racing +7.161
9 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team +10.494
10 inch ESPARGARO Repsol Honda Team +11,776
11 Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM factory race +14,766
12 Stefan BRADL Honda HRC +17.243
13 Fabio QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +18.907
14 Danilo PETRUCCI Tech 3 KTM factory race +20,095
15 Iker LECUONA Tech 3 KTM factory races +20,277
16 Luca MARINI SKY VR46 Avintia +20.922
17 Valentino ROSSI Petronas Yamaha SRT +22.731
18 Tito RABAT Pramac Racing +30.314
19 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +37.912
20 Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +38.234
Unclassified:
33 Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM factory race 14 laps
23 Enea BASTIANINI Avintia sponsor 14 rounds
Not finished 1st round
73 Alex MARQUEZ LCR Honda CASTROL 0 lap
MotoGP ™ World Ranking:
1 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 66
2 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 64
3 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 50
4 Joan ME Suzuki 49
5 Johann ZARCO Ducati 48
6 Jack MILLER Ducati 39
7 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 35
8 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 33
9 Alex RINS Suzuki 23
10 Brad BINDER KTM 21
11 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 19th
12 Enea BASTIANINI Ducati 18
13 Jorge MARTIN Ducati 17
14 pole ESPARGARO Honda 17
15 Marc MARQUEZ Honda 16
16 Stefan BRADL Honda 11
17 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 9
18 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 8
19 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM 5
20 Luca MARINI Ducati 4
21 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 4
22 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia 2
23 Iker LECUONA KTM 2
24 Tito DISCOUNT Ducati