Team Suzuki Press Office – July 25
Grid positions for the Andalucian GP:
Joan Mir: 10th – 1’37.600
Alex Rins: 20th – 1’38.601
Saturday at the Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto saw Team Suzuki Ecstar working hard to prepare for Sunday’s GP, with Joan Mir finding decent race pace and Alex Rins fighting through the pain barrier.
Mir entered FP3 determined to place himself into the Top 10 and secure direct passage to Q2. He put in several good laps, demonstrating a consistent race pace, before heading out for a final run in which he placed his GSX-RR in 10th place with a 1’37.053.
He used the final practice session, FP4, to work on finding optimum settings for the race. Team personnel recorded a track temperature of 62°c, making conditions for bike and rider extremely tough. Mir showed decent pace at the start of Q2, and on his second run he placed himself inside the Top 10 to start from the fourth row for what’s sure to be a punishing 25 lap Grand Prix.
Rins decided to sit out FP3 in order to rest his shoulder and be better prepared for qualifying. Despite being declared fit to race by the doctors, he is still struggling with debilitating pain. However, he pushed on with the assistance of painkillers and managed 12 useful laps in FP4 and a best time of 1’38.759. During Q1 Rins was able to marginally improve his lap time, completing the session in 10th for 20th place on the grid.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“It was a tricky qualifying. Joan did well this morning to get into the Top 10 and Q2 but during qualifying he struggled a bit. But anyway, 10th on the grid isn’t bad and he’ll aim to keep a good pace tomorrow and gain positions. Alex tried hard despite the pain, and we knew it would be hard for him to improve his lap time. On his last flying lap there was yellow flag and he had to slow down so he lost one lap. The goal will be just to try and finish as best he can and get some points. It will be hard and let’s see tomorrow what we can do.”
Joan Mir:
“I’m struggling a bit when it comes to a fast lap, the heat makes everything hard because with the higher temperatures I couldn’t capture the same feeling. But I’m improving and I’ve cut down the gap between myself and the fastest riders, and I’m confident in my race pace. I plan to make up positions and defend myself tomorrow, I hope that I can make a much better start than last week and work my way through as the race goes on.”
Alex Rins:
“It was positive to jump on the bike again but honestly speaking I’m feeling exhausted after the qualifying. It is so hot on the bike, and with the injury I also have to ride more physically to compensate, this uses up more energy and I get tired after a few laps. The injury is taking it out of me and it’s very painful, but I knew it would be hard. I managed to work on settings and tyres and also my rhythm. Let’s try to recover a bit for tomorrow, take some rest, and see what the situation is after the warm up.”
GRAN PREMIO RED BULL DE ANDALUCIA – Qualifying Classification:
1. F. QUARTARARO – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 01:37.007
2. M. VIÑALES – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01:37.102 – +0.095
3. F. BAGNAIA – Pramac Racing – 01:37.176 – +0.169
4. V. ROSSI – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01:37.342 – +0.335
5. M. OLIVEIRA – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 01:37.344 – +0.337
6. F. MORBIDELLI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 01:37.412 – +0.405
7. J. MILLER – Pramac Racing – 01:37.423 – +0.416
8. T. NAKAGAMI – LCR Honda IDEMITSU – 01:37.464 – +0.457
9. B. BINDER – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 01:37.596 – +0.589
10. J. MIR – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 01:37.600 – +0.593
11. D. PETRUCCI – Ducati Team – 01:37.906 – +0.899
12. P. ESPARGARO – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 01:40.277 – +3.270
13. C. CRUTCHLOW – LCR Honda CASTROL – 01:37.644 – Q1
14. A. DOVIZIOSO – Ducati Team – 01:37.656 – Q1
15. J. ZARCO – Hublot Reale Avintia – 01:37.761 – Q1
16. A. ESPARGARO – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01:37.885 – Q1
17. I. LECUONA – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 01:38.206 – Q1
18. T. RABAT – Hublot Reale Avintia – 01:38.211 – Q1
19. B. SMITH – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01:38.310 – Q1
20. A. RINS – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 01:38.601 – Q1
Not Classified:
Marc MARQUEZ – Repsol Honda Team
