Team Suzuki Press Office – August 8.
Only a few hours after the end of the official test held in Brno on Monday, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR and its riders are already settled in Spielberg (Austria) to begin preparation for the 11th GP of the season.
Monday’s test, right after the Czech GP, gave Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone a further boost of positivity thanks to the good improvements found, despite the latter suffering a crash at the end of the morning’s session which meant he had to end the test prematurely. He is now undergoing therapy on his left shoulder, which didn’t suffer any major injury but is causing pain for the Italian.
Rins left the Czech Republic with enthusiasm given the improvements made to his GSX-RR in terms of electronics and the feeling with the improved chassis.
The Austrian circuit of Red Bull Ring is not predicted to be an easy one for the GSX-RR’s characteristics, due to its very peculiar stop-and-go layout which will be very demanding for braking and hard acceleration. However, the better general performance found this year on the machines gives hope to the team for a positive weekend. The paddock personnel will also be keeping a close eye on the weather – which at this track, surrounded by mountains, is always a tricky issue.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We go straight to Austria for this back-to-back race which is positive because we can immediately try to improve our performances after the difficult race we had in Brno. The layout is not one of the best for us, but we have to try to further improve our performances compared to the Austrian GP last year and also the recent races of this year, we have to work to get closer to the top competitors. Two days ago in Brno we had a positive test that hopefully will give us important hints not only for 2019 but maybe also something for immediate introduction.”
Andrea Iannone
“The Austrian GP is always a good memory for me as here I won my first race in MotoGP, and it is still very alive in my mind, so I come here very happily. It’s a nice layout, very fast, I really enjoy riding here, so I hope to have fun this year as well. It may be a track where we can find a positive result. We arrive from a race such as the one in Brno which was not so good in terms of final position, but the gap from the winner was not so bad, we have to stay positive and focused because small details can make the difference.”
Alex Rins
“I feel very good after the test in Brno, which actually recovered from a not so positive race. We have tried some new options and also made some comparisons with the data we got during the race weekend, finding some new things. The Austrian circuit is one I like, on paper it may look an easy one but in truth it’s very complicated to interpret well, which is a challenge that excites me.”
Circuit Info:
The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg is located in the beautiful Bezirk Murtal district of Styria, in Austria. The circuit was originally built in 1969, then known as the Österreichring. In 1996 it was rebuilt with the track-layout it still has today, and in 2011 it was reopened as the Red Bull Ring and again became the centre of Austrian motor sports. The sloping terrain and the natural arena are trademark features of the Red Bull Ring which is home to a 18-metre-high landmark, the “Bull of Spielberg,” in the centre and the Voestalpine wing, considered a spectacular architectural highlight. With a length of 4.318 km, it features ten turns and an altitude variance of 65 metres.
2017 Stats
ANDREA IANNONE
Qualifying: 10th – 1’24.185 (+0.950s)
Race: 11th – +20.101
ALEX RINS
Qualifying: 21st – 1’24.448 (Q1)
Race: 16th – +32.912
Story issued by: Team SUZUKI ECSTAR
