MotoGP riders were able to participate in a one-day test at the Circuito de Jerez

MGP-1-Suzuki Garage-Wednesday Test-2

Team Suzuki Press Office – July 15.

Alex Rins: 4th – 1:38.193
Joan Mir: 9th – 1:38.380

The MotoGP riders were able to participate in a one-day test today at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as a form of warm-up or ‘shakedown’ ahead of the season’s start on Friday morning.

The combination of a long time spent off the bike, the scorching hot track temperatures, and an electrical issue in the control tower causing delay, made for a trying day, but it was also a useful way to get reacquainted with the 2020 machines. Michelin reported track temperatures approaching sixty degrees Celsius, some of the highest ever recorded at Jerez.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders both reported a boost in confidence after the two track sessions on Wednesday and are ready to tackle the rest of the weekend with renewed vigour.

Alex Rins went straight into finding a setup ready for Friday morning, establishing a consistent rhythm, and setting good lap times. He also spent time trying the tyre options and preparing for what will be a tough race in boiling conditions. He completed the day in fourth position.

Joan Mir began the day by confirming his feeling with the 2020 chassis before moving onto adjustments and settings for the forthcoming GP weekend. The Mallorcan felt better throughout the day but admitted to still having a margin to improve in terms of time attack. Mir closed the afternoon session in fifth place, giving him ninth place in the combined classification.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“We’re happy to start the season with this test, especially as everything went well. It was a good opportunity to confirm our final package, and a good chance for the riders to get used to being back on the bikes. We’re ready for the first weekend of the championship, we’ll have one more day of preparation tomorrow, and then everything will get going for real!”

Alex Rins:

“After a long time, I’m so happy to be back! It seems as though no-one has been off the bikes because the lap times are so competitive as always! I’m happy with today’s progress, we tried a lot of configurations on the bike and I’m ready to keep working for the weekend. Despite the extreme heat I feel comfortable with my physical condition and also with the feeling on the bike. Let’s see what happens this weekend!”

Joan Mir:

“It felt unbelievably good to get back on my bike! Everything feels so smooth and fast, and I’m really happy about how today went. We improved a lot and we know what we need to do to be fast. I felt good in the morning session, but I lacked a bit in the time attack during the afternoon – so we have some work to do there. But overall, my pace is quite good. I think today was the hottest conditions ever, and that will make it very tough for everybody, especially on Sunday!”

Combined classification:

1. M.VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’37.793
2. F.QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’37.911 0.118 / 0.118
3. M.MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’37.941 0.148 / 0.030
4. A. RINS Team Suzuki Ecstar 1’38.193 0.400 / 0.252
5. V. ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’38.222 0.429 / 0.029
6. A. ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’38.285 0.492 / 0.063
7. C. CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1’38.313 0.520 / 0.028
8. J. MILLER Pramac Racing 1’38.348 0.555 / 0.035
9. J. MIR Team Suzuki Ecstar 1’38.380 0.587 / 0.032
10. F. BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 1’38.417 0.624 / 0.037
11. M. OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’38.426 0.633 / 0.009
12. J. ZARCO Reale Avintia Racing 1’38.513 0.720 / 0.087
13. P. ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’38.592 0.799 / 0.079
14. F. MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’38.646 0.853 / 0.054
15. A. DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’38.779 0.986 / 0.133
16. T. NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1’38.873 1.080 / 0.094
17. B. SMITH Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’38.942 1.149 / 0.069
18. B. BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’39.016. 1.223 / 0.074
19. I. LECUONA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’39.089 1.296 / 0.073
20. A. MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’39.151 1.358 / 0.062
21. D. PETRUCCI Ducati Team 1’39.249 1.456 / 0.098
22. T. RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1’39.407 1.614 /0.158

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