Team Suzuki Press Office – March 29.
Alex Rins: 7th – 1:39.451 (+ 0.270)
Joan Mir: 15th – 1:39.946 (+ 0.765)
• Alex Rins building speed at one of his favourite tracks.
• Joan Mir adapting to feel of GSX-RR at Termas.
• Team hoping for cleaner track for tomorrow’s session.
Just three weeks after the opening round of the season in Qatar, the team were back on track at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina. As is often the case here, the track was very dirty and lacking in grip due to low usage of the circuit and climatic conditions. This should improve as the weekend continues.
Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders opted for a steady start in FP1 to properly gauge the feel of the track. Alex Rins chipped away at his lap times and closed the session in 9th. Meanwhile, Joan Mir suffered a small crash at Turn 1 which cost the rookie in terms of improving his time, he was 19th at the flag.
The afternoon’s FP2 session saw the pace upped and improvements from everyone. Alex Rins tried a variety of different tyre options and came close to the top of the time sheets, +0.270 seconds off at the end of FP2. Joan Mir used the medium-soft tyre combination and rocketed up the order to 4th with just minutes to go. However, he slipped to 15th as the session became frenetic.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“I feel it was a positive day, with some room for improvement. Alex did a good job, staying around the Top 10, and he’s able to go fast when he needs to. Joan also has good pace and managed many laps with a strong rhythm, he’s only seven tenths of a second from the leader but that’s 15th, so it’s close out there. Tomorrow we’ll see what we can do.”
Alex Rins
“This first day has been good, I found a nice rhythm and tried several different tyre options such as the hard front and a mixture on the rear, we’re already thinking about what to use for the race. Everyone is very close on the times – 21 riders covered by less than a second was crazy! I hope for good qualifying tomorrow.”
Joan Mir
“It has been a difficult day with a lot of work to do in terms of settings, and I’m still getting used to the MotoGP bike here. Tomorrow we’ll check the different tyre options and prepare more for the race. I’m not that far from the top but I still need to improve.”
GP of Argentina – Combined Classification after Day 1:
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Mission Winnow Ducati 1’39.181 (FP2)
2. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 1’39.190 0.009 / 0.009 (FP2)
3. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’39.345 0.164 / 0.155 (FP2)
4. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1’39.346 0.165 / 0.001 (FP2)
5. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’39.357 0.176 / 0.011 (FP2)
6. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’39.441 0.260 / 0.084 (FP2)
7. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’39.451 0.270 / 0.010 (FP2)
8. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’39.497 0.316 / 0.046 (FP2)
9. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 1’39.503 0.322 / 0.006 (FP2)
10. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1’39.629 0.448 / 0.126 (FP2)
11. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’39.654 0.473 / 0.025 (FP2)
12. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’39.697 0.516 / 0.043 (FP2)
13. Danilo PETRUCCI Mission Winnow Ducati 1’39.740 0.559 / 0.043 (FP2)
14. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 1’39.799 0.618 / 0.059 (FP2)
15. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’39.946 0.765 / 0.147 (FP2)
16. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’39.951 0.770 / 0.005 (FP2)
17. Johann ZARCO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’39.956 0.775 / 0.005 (FP2)
18. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing 1’39.995 0.814 / 0.039 (FP2)
19. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’40.006 0.825 / 0.011 (FP2)
20. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1’40.110 0.929 / 0.104 (FP2)
21. Jorge LORENZO Repsol Honda Team 1’40.159 0.978 / 0.049 (FP2)
22. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’40.752 1.571 / 0.593 (FP2)
