Team Suzuki Press Office – February 24.
Alex Rins: 1st – 1:54.593
Joan Mir: 11th – 1:55.280 (+ 0.687)
• Alex Rins continues excellent pace ahead of season opener.
• Joan Mir shifts focus back to set-up and rhythm.
• Finalisation of settings important for final day.
Similarly to yesterday, it took a little while for things to get underway on Day 2 as the riders waited for track conditions to become optimum. Once out on track, both Alex Rins and Joan Mir experienced positive feelings on the Doha Circuit, with the pair completing a high number of laps and trying both race pace and one lap sprints.
Alex Rins showed his promising pace early in the day, and he improved lap by lap to finish the session on top of the time sheets, Rins was also the quickest rider through sector 4. The Spaniard put in 47 laps and reported enjoying a great rhythm on his GSX-RR, as well as feeling confident with the direction of the bike and its new parts.
For Joan Mir, Day 2 saw the rookie finish in 11th place once again, but the schedule played out a little differently with Mir shifting his focus onto finding his preferred set-up, especially with the front end of the bike, and trying the new exhaust. He then went for hot laps towards the end of the day. He put in 48 laps in total and was only 0.687 seconds from the top.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We’ve had another positive day, the cherry on the cake was having the fastest lap time today. But the most important thing is that we were able to continue our plan and do our jobs well. Alex has good pace every time he takes to the track, and he puts together strong laps which is very helpful for us when it comes to testing. Joan improved again today and had another good lap time, close to many other riders. We are happy with the progress and the work we’ve done. Tomorrow we’ll think more about the upcoming race.”
Alex Rins
“It would be good if the race was tomorrow! We’ve been doing a great job; in Sepang we tested a lot of parts, but here we’re confirming that those parts are good. But the important thing is the way I’m riding, step-by-step with a nice rhythm, and using worn tyres as well. The aim is to get everything 100% clear when we come back for the first race. I feel that our package is better than last year, just by changing small things. I feel happy with the bike.”
Joan Mir
“I’m really satisfied with today, because I made good improvements. I’m feeling strong with the bike, especially as I improved my feeling with the front end which helped me to get a better pace. It was a shame because I put a new tyre in, but I wasn’t able to get the lap I wanted, but we have another day tomorrow and I’ll try again then. Today I tried the new exhaust and I’m happy about that too, I found positive things from it. The plan tomorrow is a race simulation and further improvements.”
QATAR PRE-SEASON TEST DAY 2 – Classification:
1. RINS, Alex Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1:54.593
2. VIÑALES, Maverick Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1:54.650 0.057 0.057
3. QUARTARARO, Fabio Petronas Yamaha SRT 1:54.908 0.315 0.258
4. PETRUCCI, Danilo Mission Winnow Ducati 1:54.953 0.360 0.045
5. MARQUEZ, Marc Repsol Honda Team 1:55.004 0.411 0.051
6. ESPARGARO, Aleix Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:55.173 0.580 0.169
7. NAKAGAMI, Takaaki LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1:55.175 0.582 0.002
8. DOVIZIOSO, Andrea Mission Winnow Ducati 1:55.205 0.612 0.030
9. CRUTCHLOW, Cal LCR Honda CASTROL 1:55.247 0.654 0.042
10. ESPARGARO, Pol Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:55.255 0.662 0.008
11. MIR, Joan Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1:55.280 0.687 0.025
12. MILLER, Jack Alma Pramac Racing 1:55.380 0.787 0.100
13. MORBIDELLI, Franco Petronas Yamaha SRT 1:55.556 0.963 0.176
14. RABAT, Tito Reale Avintia Racing 1:55.661 1.068 0.105
15. BAGNAIA, Francesco Alma Pramac Racing 1:55.680 1.087 0.019
16. IANNONE, Andrea Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:55.698 1.105 0.018
17. ZARCO, Johann Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:55.716 1.123 0.018
18. LORENZO, Jorge Repsol Honda Team 1:55.742 1.149 0.026
19. ROSSI, Valentino Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1:55.795 1.202 0.053
20. ABRAHAM, Karel Reale Avintia Racing 1:55.951 1.358 0.156
21. OLIVEIRA, Miguel Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1:56.274 1.681 0.323
22. SMITH, Bradley Aprilia Factory Racing 1:56.866 2.273 0.592
23. SYAHRIN, Hafizh Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1:56.983 2.390 0.117
