Circuit of the Americas saw the schedule disrupted as storms swept over Austin

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 13.

• Alex Rins with strong pace and consistency.
• Joan Mir happy with progress and ready for the race.
• FP3 cancelled as lightning strikes circuit. 

Day two at the Circuit of the Americas saw the schedule disrupted as storms swept over Austin. All FP3 sessions were cancelled, but the riders were able to head out for their usual FP4 and qualifying sessions.

Alex Rins and Joan Mir used the afternoon’s FP4 session to finalise settings and check different tyre options. The pair made good progress and finished 5th and 12th consecutively.

The Q1 session was hotly contested with a high caliber of riders, nevertheless, Joan Mir put in some impressive laps and almost made the step into Q2. The rookie was bumped to 14th on the grid but he feels confident with his pace.

In Q2 Alex Rins was looking on course to grab a front row start for tomorrow’s GP, but with just a few minutes left on the clock he found himself in 7th place. It is hoped this 3rd row start will see Alex able to join the leading group early in the race.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager 
“It was a strange day because this morning’s action was cancelled, which meant we didn’t have much time to continue what we were working on. Alex was still able to finish 7th, which I think could be good for the race. Joan was very good in Q1 and it was very difficult to get into Q2, he’s understanding more about the bike in every session.”

Alex Rins
“I’m happy to start on the third row, and my race pace wasn’t bad. I think we’ve made a big improvement over the weekend and we’ll continue to push. Every time I go on track I give 100%, and that can bring varying results depending on the situation, but I’ll try to enjoy tomorrow and bring a lot of points home.”

Joan Mir 
“I’m in good shape and my speed is good. Today I was very close to Q2 but I missed out. Anyway I’m still happy with my pace, I’m not too far from the top. I’ll try to recover positions tomorrow in the race, and my goal is to learn about the riders around me and to get the best result possible.”

GP of the Americas – Qualifying Classification:
1. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 2’03.787
2. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 2’04.060 0.273 / 0.273
3. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 2’04.147 0.360 / 0.087
4. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 2’04.416 0.629 / 0.269
5. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2’04.472 0.685 / 0.056
6. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 2’04.489 0.702 / 0.017
7. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2’04.534 0.747 / 0.045
8. Danilo PETRUCCI Mission Winnow Ducati 2’04.696 0.909 / 0.162
9. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 2’04.941 1.154 / 0.245
10. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 2’05.278 1.491 / 0.337
11. Jorge LORENZO Repsol Honda Team 2’05.383 1.596 / 0.105
12. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 2’05.887 2.100 / 0.504
13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Mission Winnow Ducati 2’05.907 Q1
14. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2’06.147 Q1
15. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 2’06.324 Q1
16. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2’06.464 Q1
17. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2’06.527 Q1
18. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 2’06.543 Q1
19. Johann ZARCO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2’06.824 Q1
20. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing 2’07.129 Q1
21. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 2’07.308 Q1
22. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 2’07.417 Q1