High winds left the Losail track covered in sand for the final day of Qatar’s pre-season testing, with only five drivers doing laps due to the conditions.
Suzuki duo Mir and Alex Rins didn’t dare to venture out during the eight-hour session, with the former admitting that the lost day turned out to be problematic as he “still has a lot to try” on his GSX-RR.
Me – who finished the test in seventh place overall – had reserved the last day to make some race preparations and to work more on the 2021 chassis, which in his opinion was compared to the 2020 frame on which he won the world title Braking areas were missing.
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When asked how well he was prepared for the season opener of the Qatar Grand Prix, he replied after test pacesetter Jack Miller said on Friday that Suzuki had not shown its true potential: better not to try a lot, just simple [to tweak] a little more electronics to work more for them [race] Weekend.
“And [it] One day wasn’t enough, probably wasn’t enough.
Joan Mir, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I feel prepared, I think the Ducatis are really fast and the Yamaha – this is a track that suits them so well. For us too, but we are probably not as strong as they are, especially on some Yamahas.
“We’re one of the fastest, but not the fastest, and I’m certainly not 100% satisfied because I’m not the strongest in the test.”
When asked if losing the last day of running had influenced his decision on the chassis choice for the first race, he added: “We’ll probably be racing with the same one that we did last year. The new chassis is pretty good, but for that we have to do a good setup and we probably don’t have that time.
“So it will be key if the team does a good job on the computer now. It’s probably more important than the test today, and you’ve got 10 days of hard work to do. Even if we stay here in Qatar, I think they won’t get bored! “
I also admitted that the first three days of the five-day test were mostly spent doing things that “didn’t work,” as well as having to focus some of his time on Suzuki’s 2022 engine.
Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Teammate Rins was more positive after the final day, but admitted that he too will likely start the 2020 season on the 2020 chassis.
“We are ready to start the championship, I feel ready to fight in the race,” said Rins, who finished eighth overall. “We’re going to give our 100% to be ahead, and being ahead means fighting, overtaking – even on the straights – so I’m hoping for a race like 2019.
“Well, we are ready. I think we finished the test with good conclusions and very positive information. It’s a shame we didn’t drive today because we had planned to test the 2021 chassis again. I am not sure if I will use it [it] for the race weekend because there wasn’t enough time to try it out. “