Team Suzuki Press Office – March 10.
Joan Mir: 7th – 1’54.078 (+ 0.895)
Alex Rins: 8th – 1’54.143 (+ 0.960)
Sylvain Guintoli: 24th – 1’55.642 (+ 2.459)
After a short break of two days since the first pre-season test, Team Suzuki Ecstar and the rest of the MotoGP field rejoined Losail circuit in Qatar for the second batch of test days. The focus on Wednesday remained on the testing of bigger items rather than small adjustments in settings.
Joan Mir spent time working with different fairing variations in order to work on aerodynamics, then switched his attention to general performance including working on the electronics. The Mallorcan found good feelings with his bike and was able to set some decent lap times during the day. He did 57 circulations and finished the day in 7th place.
Alex Rins used the day to work on the electronics and engine areas, before moving on to trying the swingarm he used a few days ago, and also trying the different fairing options. He didn’t do a time attack during the day, but nevertheless felt strong with his GSX-RR. Rins was 8th and completed a whopping 63 laps.
Sylvain Guintoli tested several items, mainly concentrating on the suspension settings and the chassis. He reported feeling ever more comfortable on the GSX-RR.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“Both riders have already regained the good feelings they had last year, and that’s important. It means they’re ready to test many items and make good progress for the coming season. Joan tried a lot of different fairing specs. today, and we collected data around that. He also tried the 2022 spec. engine and gave us positive feedback in regard to that. Alex also used the 2022 spec. engine again, and some chassis items. It’s been a great day in terms of collection information and we’re pleased.”
Joan Mir:
“Today I tried the 2022 spec. engine, and it was really useful because it gives us an idea of how the future could be. After that we tried a number of other different settings and it all helps build the overall package for this year. I felt good today and I’m happy with my lap times despite not really pushing for a fast lap. It will be interesting to see how the next two days play out in terms of everyone being close on times.”
Alex Rins:
“We did a good job today and I tried many things. We worked the chassis, the swingarm that I tried last weekend, and a fairing with different winglets. Everything feels quite similar to last year but with an improvement, which is great. Today I didn’t go for a fast lap but I did improve my corner speed and that’s something I’m feeling positive about. The bike in general is feeling good!”
Sylvain Guintoli:
“Another busy and full day for us, it went well and we tried a lot of items, especially around the chassis. We gained a lot of information from that and we will explore this further in the coming days. We also worked on suspension settings and I found good feelings. I’m really happy because I beat my 0-100km/h record on a practice start today! I’m really back into the groove now after a long time off the bike. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
QATAR TEST 2 – Classification after first day:
1. Jack MILLER – Ducati Lenovo Team – 1’53.183
2. Fabio QUARTARARO – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 1’53.263 – +0.080
3. Maverick VIÑALES – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 1’53.510 – +0.327
4. Johann ZARCO – Pramac Racing – 1’53.899 – +0.716
5. Pol ESPARGARO – Repsol Honda Team – 1’53.899 – +0.716
6. Aleix ESPARGARO – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’53.971 – +0.788
7. Joan MIR – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’54.078 – +0.895
8. Alex RINS – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’54.143 – +0.960
9. Francesco BAGNAIA – Ducati Lenovo Team – 1’54.236 – +1.053
10. Takaaki NAKAGAMI – LCR Honda IDEMITSU – 1’54.262 – +1.079
11. Franco MORBIDELLI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 1’54.367 – +1.184
12. Miguel OLIVEIRA – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’54.526 – +1.343
13. Valentino ROSSI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 1’54.618 – +1.435
14. Enea BASTIANINI – Avintia Esponsorama – 1’54.738 – +1.555
15. Alex MARQUEZ – LCR Honda CASTROL – 1’54.930 – +1.747
16. Stefan BRADL – Honda Test Team – 1’54.974 – +1.791
17. Danilo PETRUCCI – Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing – 1’54.978 – +1.795
18. Yamaha TEST2 – Yamaha Test Team – 1’54.998 – +1.815
19. Jorge MARTIN – Pramac Racing – 1’55.010 – +1.827
20. Brad BINDER – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’55.279 – +2.096
21. Iker LECUONA – Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing – 1’55.315 – +2.132
22. Luca MARINI – SKY VR46 Avintia – 1’55.328 – +2.145
23. Dani PEDROSA – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’55.640 – +2.457
24. Sylvain GUINTOLI – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’55.642 – +2.459
25. Lorenzo SAVADORI – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’56.168 – +2.985
26. Michele PIRRO – Ducati Test Team – 1’57.255 – +4.072
27. Yamaha TEST1 – Yamaha Test Team – 1’57.510 – +4.327
28. Takuya TSUDA – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’57.795 – +4.612
