Team Suzuki Press Office – June 5.
Joan Mir: 4th 40’40.841 (+ 11.481)
Alex Rins: DNF
The Catalan GP was the definition of mixed fortunes for Team Suzuki Ecstar; Alex Rins had his race cut short at the first corner, and Joan Mir worked his way through the pack to bag another fourth-place finish.
As the 24 lap race got underway with track temperatures of over 55 degrees Celsius all was set for a thrilling Grand Prix, but from his seventh place grid spot Rins was denied the opportunity of performing well in front of his home crowd when he was taken down for the second week in a row. Nakagami went down at Turn 1, taking Bagnaia and Rins with him, and the three riders suffered a heavy crash. Rins had pain in his left wrist immediately after the fall, and at the time of publication he is undergoing medical checks in hospital.
A statement on Alex Rins’ condition will be issued later, following his medical examination.
Meanwhile, Mir put together a fantastic charge from 17th on the grid, making up 11 places in quick succession and running sixth by Lap 2. Although he had to drop one place for a yellow flag infringement, he didn’t let that deter him and he was back up to fifth in no time. He held a steady pace for the remainder of the race, staying focused and consistent, but with clear air either side of him. At the start of the last lap Mir moved up into fourth – equalling his best result this season achieved in Argentina and Texas.
Joan Mir:
“My first lap and the first part of the race went very well, I felt really good. I had a yellow flag penalty; I passed another rider on the straight when I was tucked down and then I didn’t see the flag at Turn 1. As the race went on I started to struggle a little bit, but I was able to manage the situation. It was very important for me to finish this race well and get prepared for the test tomorrow. It’s nice to take some points after a rough few weeks.”
Alex Rins:
“First of all, I hope that Taka is OK, because I saw him in the medical centre, and I saw the replay of the crash, and it was very bad. You never want to see anyone injured, especially not a fellow rider. However, a mistake by him has cost me today, and another race with zero points is hard to take. I had a lot of potential today and strong pace, and I felt it could’ve been a really good race for me. But there’s nothing I can do now, and let’s see what the diagnosis is at the hospital.”
Livio Suppo – Team Manager:
“I’m very pleased with Joan’s race, he did a very good job. If it weren’t for the qualifying position he could’ve been fighting for the podium, because his race pace was really good. I have no words for Alex, he made a perfect start, and with the rhythm he showed in the practice sessions I’m pretty certain he would’ve been able to challenge for the podium. These bad moments can happen in racing, and I believe he will come back stronger.”
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“It was a real pity for Alex, he showed how strong he could be in the race by getting a good start and it was so disappointing to see him fall so early in the race, through no fault of his own. He put together a good weekend in general. Joan had a great result because he came up from 17th on the grid to fourth, he stayed calm and got good points. I feel that we still haven’t reached our potential and we have more to offer in the coming races.”
GRAND PRIX OF BARCELONA RACE RESULTS:
1 Fabio QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 40’29.360
2 Jorge MARTIN Prima Pramac Racing 40’35.833 6.473
3 Johann ZARCO Prima Pramac Racing 40’37.745 8.385
4 Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 40’40.841 11.481
5 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing 40’43.755 14.395
6 Luca MARINI Mooney VR46 Racing Team 40’44.790 15.430
7 Maverick VIÑALES Aprilia Racing 40’45.335 15.975
8 Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 40’50.796 21.436
9 Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 40’56.160 26.800
10 Alex MARQUEZ LCR Honda CASTROL 40’59.820 30.460
11 Remy GARDNER Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 41’01.803 32.443
12 Darryn BINDER WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team 41’02.241 32.881
13 Franco MORBIDELLI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 41’02.528 33.168
14 Jack MILLER Ducati Lenovo Team 41’04.053 34.693
15 Raul FERNANDEZ Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 41’07.204 37.844
16 Michele PIRRO Aruba.it Racing 41’13.893 44.533
17 Pol ESPARGARO Repsol Honda Team 41’15.559 46.199
Not classified:
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team
49 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Gresini Racing MotoGP
23 Enea BASTIANINI Gresini Racing MotoGP
72 Marco BEZZECCHI Mooney VR46 Racing Team
63 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati Lenovo Team
Not finished first lap:
42 Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR
30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU
6 Stefan BRADL Repsol Honda Team
RIDERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1 Fabio QUARTARARO 147
2 Aleix ESPARGARO 125
3 Enea BASTIANINI 94
4 Johann ZARCO 91
5 Francesco BAGNAIA 81
6 Brad BINDER 73
7 Alex RINS 69
8 Joan MIR 69
9 Jack MILLER 65
10 Marc MARQUEZ 60
11 Miguel OLIVEIRA 57
12 Jorge MARTIN 51
13 Maverick VIÑALES 46
14 Luca MARINI 41
15 Pol ESPARGARO 40
16 Takaaki NAKAGAMI 38
17 Marco BEZZECCHI 30
18 Alex MARQUEZ 26
19 Franco MORBIDELLI 22
20 Darryn BINDER 10
21 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO 8
22 Andrea DOVIZIOSO 8
23 Remy GARDNER 3
24 Raul FERNANDEZ 0
25 Michele PIRRO 0
26 Stefan BRADL 0
27 Lorenzo SAVADORI 0
