Team Suzuki Press Office – June 2.
Andrea Iannone: 4th – 1:46.347 (+ 0.139)
Alex Rins: 10th – 1:46.909 (+ 0.701)
• Very quick pace from Iannone throughout the day.
• Crash hampers Rins’ good improvements.
• Both riders in Q2 and in Top 10 for tomorrow’s race.
The second day at the stunning Mugello Circuit saw the hotly-anticipated Saturday sessions live up to all expectations as the riders pushed hard, the pace was extremely quick, and the fastest ever lap was recorded around the Tuscan track.
The morning’s FP3 session was a successful one for home rider Andrea Iannone as he led the way and looked dominant up until the closing moments when he was knocked to 2nd place. Alex Rins used the early part of FP3 to confirm his settings, but he made a good final push to place himself 9th, and crucially into Q2.
In FP4 Alex Rins had a high speed fall at Turn 13, but luckily the young Spaniard was able to rejoin the session quickly, despite shoulder pain. Andrea Iannone confirmed his very strong pace once again, and he ended the session on top with a 1:47.548.
The Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders both began the session with the medium-soft tyre combination. Iannone set a great 1:46.347 with 8 minutes to go, a provisional pole record. Meanwhile, Rins continued to push towards the Top 10 and ended the session with a 1:46.909, and 10th spot. The final minutes of Q2 were extremely fast and competitive with several riders in contention for pole, and Andrea Iannone’s excellent lap time of 1:46.347 was bettered by only 0.139 and a new pole record, the Italian therefore starts tomorrow’s ‘home race’ from the front of the second row in 4th place.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“It’s been a positive day, Mugello so far has been very good in general with Andrea always fast and with strong pace. It’s actually good that we feel a little bit ‘disappointed’ about starting in 4th position – it’s a good sign! Overall we’ve done really well this weekend, and when you really think about it, starting in 4th still allows us to do a good race. Maybe it could have been better today, but we are well set for the race with Andrea, and we think we can have a good race and enjoy it. Alex did good work during the morning in FP3, but after the crash he lost his rhythm a little, and he also had to manage a bit of pain during the qualifying session. He could have been better because we made a lot of progress today, but Alex is also capable of having a good race. So overall, the feeling is positive. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
Andrea Iannone
“For sure I have a really good chance for tomorrow, during the race we will be racing close together and I expect that I might lose out a bit on top speed, so it could be difficult. During qualifying I made a mistake in Turn 1 which cost me, and I was losing time there, I thought I could be on the front row but we can still be competitive tomorrow with strong pace. We will aim for a good start, good tyre management, and good conservation of energy so that we can push at the end and give all. The fans give me a lot of extra motivation and energy! The last five laps will be tough, but my feeling with the bike is really good and I hope I can take a good result away from my home GP.”
Alex Rins
“It was a fast crash and I hurt my right shoulder, so I lost a bit of strength in my shoulder during qualifying, and I need to go to the Clinica Mobile to have some checks before tomorrow. But apart from that, everything is going well. The crash was strange because I just left the pits with the new asymmetric tyre and I entered the last chicane like always but I lost the front completely. We tried the new chassis in FP2 and I feel more stability with it, I think the chassis helps me to give more. Unfortunately I crashed with this new chassis so I had to do qualifying without it. I need to find a bit more confidence on corner entry, but I hope to have a good race tomorrow.”
GP of Italy – Qualifying Classification:
1. Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’46.208
2. Jorge LORENZO Ducati Team 1’46.243 0.035 / 0.035
3. Maverick VIÑALES Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’46.304 0.096 / 0.061
4. Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’46.347 0.139 / 0.043
5. Danilo PETRUCCI Alma Pramac Racing 1’46.445 0.237 / 0.098
6. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’46.454 0.246 / 0.009
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’46.500 0.292 / 0.046
8. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1’46.813 0.605 / 0.313
9. Johann ZARCO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’46.830 0.622 / 0.017
10. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’46.909 0.701 / 0.079
11. Jack MILLER Alma Pramac Racing 1’46.998 0.790 / 0.089
12. Franco MORBIDELLI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1’47.002 0.794 / 0.004
13. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1’46.908 Q1
14. Hafizh SYAHRIN Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’47.188 Q1
15. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’47.335 Q1
16. Alvaro BAUTISTA Angel Nieto Team 1’47.708 Q1
17. Bradley SMITH Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’47.818 Q1
18. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1’47.868 Q1
19. Thomas LUTHI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1’47.989 Q1
20. Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’48.065 Q1
21. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’48.286 Q1
22. Karel ABRAHAM Angel Nieto Team 1’48.532 Q1
23. Scott REDDING Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’48.744 Q1
24. Xavier SIMEON Reale Avintia Racing 1’48.794 Q1
Story Issued by: Team SUZUKI ECSTAR.
