Team Suzuki Press Office – October 23.
Combined practice times:
Joan Mir: 5th – 1’48.182 (+ 0.400)
Alex Rins: 7th – 1’48.190 (+ 0.578)
Following a brilliant race in Aragon last weekend, which saw Alex Rins take victory and Joan Mir place third while taking over the title lead, Team Suzuki Ecstar are back on track at Motorland for the Teruel Grand Prix.
FP1 was sunny, bright, and much warmer than last weekend. This was ideal for the riders, who were able to work on race setup without needing the same caution as last time out when the track was very cold. Mir displayed impressively-consistent pace over the course of the session, and he completed 20 laps, setting his quickest – a 1.48.993 – on lap 18. Rins also put in a long run of 20 laps, favouring the soft-medium tyre combination, and similarly he had plenty of decent lap times.
In the afternoon both riders improved their times by a good margin, while simultaneously continuing to focus on settings and tyre options. They plugged away, keeping themselves close to the Top 10 before going for a final time attack. In the final few minutes of FP2 Mir topped the session with a 1’48.182 while Rins placed third with a 1’48.190. At the chequered flag they were fifth and seventh respectively on combined times, standing them in good stead for tomorrow’s qualifying.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“It’s been positive today, the riders were putting in good laps and both of them are in the Top 10, which is especially good considering that the second week at the same circuit usually means everybody becomes more competitive. We worked a lot today in terms of geometry, settings, and tyres. So now we’ll analyse the data overnight and see if there’s anywhere we can improve compared to last weekend.”
Joan Mir:
“It was quite tough today because I did a lot of laps and tried a lot of different settings in order to work towards the race, but I’m really happy and feeling positive. I did a lot of laps with a used tyre today and I think that could pay off in the race. I didn’t set a really fast lap today but I feel really good with the bike and I’m looking forward to trying to get a good qualifying tomorrow.”
Alex Rins:
“Today went well. The track conditions are better this week and that makes everything a little easier. I focused on setup, to see where I can gain a bit more, especially on braking and grip levels. My last run with the soft tyre, which I prefer to the medium, felt pretty good. Tomorrow in FP3 I’ll try a few more things in order to prepare for qualifying and let’s see what we can do.”
GRAN PREMIO LIQUI MOLY DE TERUEL – Combined Classification after DAY1:
1. T. NAKAGAMI – LCR Honda IDEMITSU – 01:47.782
2. M. VIÑALES – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01:47.957 – +0.175
3. C. CRUTCHLOW – LCR Honda CASTROL – 01:48.111 – +0.329
4. F. QUARTARARO – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 01:48.164 – +0.382
5. J. MIR – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 01:48.182 – +0.400
6. A. MARQUEZ – Repsol Honda Team – 01:48.184 – +
7. A. RINS – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 01:48.190 – +0.408
8. I. LECUONA – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 01:48.360 – +0.578
9. A. ESPARGARO – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01:48.426 – +0.644
10. P. ESPARGARO – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 01:48.439 – +0.657
11. S. BRADL – Repsol Honda Team – 01:48.444 – +0.662
12. M. OLIVEIRA – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 01:48.527 – +0.745
13. J. ZARCO – Esponsorama Racing – 01:48.532 – +0.750
14. B. BINDER – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 01:48.545 – +0.763
15. F. MORBIDELLI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 01:48.612 – +0.830
16. B. SMITH – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01:48.810 – +1.028
17. D. PETRUCCI – Ducati Team – 01:48.870 – +1.088
18. J. MILLER – Pramac Racing – 01:49.211 – +1.027
19. A. DOVIZIOSO – Ducati Team – 01:49.240 – +1.458
20. F. BAGNAIA – Pramac Racing – 01:49.319 – +1.537
21. T. RABAT – Esponsorama Racing – 01:49.733 – +1.951
