Team Suzuki Press Office – July 17.
Joan Mir: 5th – 1:37.481 (+ 0.131)
Alex Rins: 7th – 1:37.569 (+ 0.219)
The first MotoGP practice session of the year got underway at Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Friday morning, and Team Suzuki Ecstar began the race weekend feeling optimistic and confident.
There was little to choose between the field as lap times proved incredibly close in the morning’s FP1 session; the top 19 riders covered by just one second. Joan Mir and Alex Rins both got into a decent rhythm from the start, with Mir featuring among the Top 5 for the majority of FP1.
As the afternoon’s FP2 session rolled around, conditions became significantly hotter, with track temperatures measuring 54°c. This made it hard to improve on times, and both riders chose to focus on the various different tyre options available for the weekend, and to prepare for Saturday’s qualifying.
Mir closed Friday’s action in fifth place on combined times, just +0.131 from the top spot. Despite the difficulties surrounding tyre choice, he is feeling strong and prepared for tomorrow’s action.
Rins was just behind his team-mate, finishing proceedings in seventh place. He reported confidence in his pace ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“We’re happy about the work done today. This morning we confirmed a few settings, and then the riders put in good lap times within the Top 10. This is a promising sign for tomorrow’s qualifying. In the afternoon we turned to working towards race settings, especially tyre choice. It’s very hot here so it makes it trickier to choose. We collected good information and data, and tomorrow we’ll see again how the pace is.”
Joan Mir:
“The feeling was good, it’s great to be back riding properly! We did a really good job today and we were able to try a few things that we didn’t manage to do during the test day. We also spent some time today trying the front tyre options and checking which will be best for us on race day. At the moment it’s difficult to decide because the conditions are so tough. But anyway, the feeling with the bike is good and I’m ready for tomorrow.”
Alex Rins:
“I’m feeling confident with my pace and with the bike; in the morning I worked on lap times and then in the afternoon I worked on tyres. Now I feel as though I understand the limits with the used tyres. I’m happy because I tried the various options and it helped a lot to figure out how Sunday will be. For tomorrow I’ll be focusing on making sure I’m in Q2 and see what we can do from there.”
GP of Spain – Combined Classification after Day 1:
1. M.MARQUEZ – Repsol Honda Team – 1’37.350
2. M.VIÑALES – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 1’37.374 – +0.024
3. C.CRUTCHLOW – LCR Honda CASTROL – 1’37.438 – +0.088
4.A.DOVIZIOSO – Ducati Team – 1’37.471 – +0.121
5. J.MIR – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’37.481 – +0.131
6. J.MILLER – Pramac Racing – 1’37.487 – +0.137
7. A.RINS – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR – 1’37.569 – +0.219
8. P.ESPARGARO – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’37.712 – +0.362
9. I.LECUONA – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 1’37.714 – +0.364
10. B.BINDER – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1’37.923 – +0.573
11. J.ZARCO – Hublot Reale Avintia Racing – 1’37.940 – +0.590
12. F.MORBIDELLI – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 1’37.982 – +0.632
13. V.ROSSI – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 1’38.118 – +0.768
14. T.NAKAGAMI – LCR Honda IDEMITSU – 1’38.129 – +0.779
15. F.QUARTARARO – Petronas Yamaha SRT – 1’38.152 – +0.802
16. A.ESPARGARO – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’38.209 – +0.859
17. A.MARQUEZ – Repsol Honda Team – 1’38.212 – +0.862
18. F.BAGNAIA – Pramac Racing – 1’38.316 – +0.966
19. T.RABAT – Hublot Reale Avintia Racing – 1’38.337 – +0.987
20. M.OLIVEIRA – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 1’38.506 – +1.156
21. D.PETRUCCI – Ducati Team – 1’38.507 – +1.157
22. B.SMITH – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 1’38.730 – +1.380
