Team Suzuki Press Office – October 16
Alex Rins: 1st
Joan Mir: 18th (+ 23.489)
The entire paddock was desperate to get back on track in Australia after the long hiatus caused by the pandemic, and Phillip Island didn’t disappoint as it offered up one of the most thrilling races of the season – one which gave Suzuki a superb win in the hands of Alex Rins.
A tense start to the race saw Rins deep in the field but battling through to eighth in the early laps, and before long he set the fastest lap of the race, slotting into fifth place by Lap 6.
His progression continued to impress while the pack closed in around him; for three laps in a row Rins made slick and well executed passes at the Southern Loop section of the circuit, bringing him into a podium position by the eighth circulation.
On Lap 14 Rins charged to the head of the race, and from there on out he battled hard to both attack and defend. It was far from an easy task with just 1.8 seconds covering the first 10 riders, but Rins was feeling confident and carrying great corner speed on his GSX-RR. The Suzuki squad held their breath as their rider refused to give up, despite slipping to third with three laps left. Two more sensational passes at the Southern Loop plunged Rins back into the lead before the chequered flag and he took his fourth MotoGP career win – now completing the set having also won here in Moto3 and Moto2.
Joan Mir had a more complicated race. After starting well and climbing into ninth, he struggled with tyre pressure problems caused by a fault with the manometer. He tried hard to stay in the points but slipped to 18th by the line.
Alex Rins:
“I’m super happy! During the race I was feeling pretty good, in fact my feeling with the bike was amazing. The pace was fairly slow to try and preserve the rear tyre, because we know this place can be tough on tyres. But in the end, I was able to find some good traction in the sweeping corners and this allowed me to gain places and feel strong until the end – we had a fantastic battle all together! The entire team and everyone who has worked on this project deserves this win, and so do the fans, I’m so pleased that I could celebrate another victory together before we depart.”
Joan Mir:
“On our side of the garage it’s been a very disappointing race. There was a problem with the manometer which meant that the tyre pressures were out, and this caused me to drop backwards. I practically couldn’t finish the race, but I just managed to. It’s a sad comeback for me, but I’ll do my best in the last two races and hope for some better luck. On the other hand, I’m so happy for the team and Alex, because a victory here in Phillip Island is something very special.”
Livio Suppo – Team Manager:
“It’s actually a very mixed feeling: I’m super happy for Alex, of course, but super sorry for Joan. Alex rode an unbelievable race, he showed all his talent and all the potential of the bike, I’m really glad to celebrate this victory with the team after such a difficult season. It was a real shame for Joan; due to a tiny technical issue his race was compromised from the beginning. His pace in the practices was also very good, and I’m sure he could’ve been up there too. Anyway, we’ve shown today that we truly don’t give up, and I want to thank everybody for the support.”
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“I’m happy because, at last, we’ve come back to the podium – and not only to the podium but the top step. Alex did an incredible job and this is a nice reward for us, and for everybody who has contributed to our team and factory. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, our project will end this year but we could prove we’re enough competitive and we’ll continue to go ‘full gas’ in the last two races. Joan had some problems today which meant he couldn’t show his potential, but it’s great to have him back with us and we hope next week will be much better for him.”
GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRALIA RACE RESULTS:
1 Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 40’50.654
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 40’50.840 0.186
3 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati Lenovo Team 40’50.878 0.224
4 Marco BEZZECCHI Mooney VR46 Racing Team 40’51.188 0.534
5 Enea BASTIANINI Gresini Racing MotoGP 40’51.211 0.557
6 Luca MARINI Mooney VR46 Racing Team 40’51.342 0.688
7 Jorge MARTIN Prima Pramac Racing 40’51.538 0.884
8 Johann ZARCO Prima Pramac Racing 40’53.795 3.141
9 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing 40’55.202 4.548
10 Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 40’56.594 5.940
11 Pol ESPARGARO Repsol Honda Team 41’01.702 11.048
12 Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 41’04.260 13.606
13 Cal CRUTCHLOW WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP 41’04.544 13.890
14 Darryn BINDER WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP 41’05.180 14.526
15 Remy GARDNER Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 41’10.124 19.470
16 Raul FERNANDEZ Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 41’11.299 20.645
17 Maverick VIÑALES Aprilia Racing 41’12.821 22.167
18 Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 41’14.143 23.489
19 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA LCR Honda IDEMITSU 41’30.272 39.618
20 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Gresini Racing MotoGP 41’30.287 39.633
Not classified:
21 Franco MORBIDELLI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
20 Fabio QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
43 Jack MILLER Ducati Lenovo Team
73 Alex MARQUEZ LCR Honda CASTROL
RIDERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1 Francesco BAGNAIA 233
1 Fabio QUARTARARO 219
3 Aleix ESPARGARO 206
4 Enea BASTIANINI 191
5 Jack MILLER 179
6 Brad BINDER 160
7 Johann ZARCO 159
8 Alex RINS 137
9 Jorge MARTIN 136
10 Miguel OLIVEIRA 135
11 Maverick VIÑALES 122
12 Luca MARINI 111
13 Marc MARQUEZ 104
14 Marco BEZZECCHI 93
15 Joan MIR 77
16 Pol ESPARGARO 54
17 Alex MARQUEZ 50
18 Takaaki NAKAGAMI 46
19 Franco MORBIDELLI 31
20 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO 23
21 Andrea DOVIZIOSO 15
22 Darryn BINDER 12
23 Remy GARDNER 10
24 Raul FERNANDEZ 9
25 Cal CRUTCHLOW 6
26 Stefan BRADL 2
27 Michele PIRRO 0
28 Lorenzo SAVADORI 0
29 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA 0
30 Danilo PETRUCCI 0
31 Kazuki WATANABE 0
32 Takuya TSUDA 0
