Team Suzuki Press Office – October 25.
The long overseas race series is at its turning point with the Australian circuit of Phillip Island, a track that is appreciated by racers, fans, and technicians for its fast and flowing nature.
Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone are both feeling positive ahead of the 17th round of the Championship, benefitting from the good form they found at the previous race in Motegi, where they were both able to fight among the top positions, and where Rins took his third podium of the season, the 6th for the team.
With both riders and all the team members already acclimatised to the eastern timezone, the long trip to Australia is expected to be a positive and successful one for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR. In last year’s race the riders were able to show strong performances, and the GSX-RR machine is well suited to the Australian layout.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Phillip Island is a track we like, our GSX-RR has some characteristics that could suit the layout well, and both Alex and Andrea like the fast and flowing riding there. We have always been able to be competitive in Australia, and the recent good results in Japan give us high hopes. Despite Andrea’s crash, both him and Alex were very fast in Motegi and capable of keeping up with the fastest guys in practice and the race, this shows how our competitiveness has improved which adds our hopes for a positive result in Phillip Island.”
Andrea Iannone
“I’m happy to be going to Australia following the Japanese GP; in Motegi I found a good feeling with the GSX-RR the whole weekend and I could be consistently fast in all sessions, and despite the crash in the race I was very close to the top. Going to Phillip Island in these conditions is a good thing, also because the Australian track is one I really like and it could suit our bike well, as we have seen last year with the positive race we did there.”
Alex Rins
“After the podium in Motegi I go to Australia with even more positivity. The circuit itself is very nice for me, as it’s fast and flowing, the best type for our GSX-RR. We expect this to be a good track for us, especially after the enthusiasm of the podium in Motegi which was important not only for the classification itself but as pay off for the consistency we have shown during the whole weekend.”
Circuit Info:
The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will be raced at the Phillip Island Circuit, which is a 4.4 km (2.76 miles) track at the very south of Australia, blessed with breathtaking scenery and beautiful ocean views. It is made up of seven left-handed and five right-handed corners and is one of the fastest, most fluid, tracks on the calendar, providing some of the most spectacular racing in the MotoGP™ season. Sunday’s MotoGP™ race will be held over 27 laps for a total distance of 120.1 km (74.5 miles)
2017 Stats
ANDREA IANNONE
Qualifying: 4th – 1’28.937 +0.551
Race: 6th – +3.871
ALEX RINS
Qualifying: 13th – 1’29.824 (Q1)
Race: 8th – +12.208
