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HOME GP AWAITS CONFIDENT MIR AND RINS FROM 8TH AND 13TH


Team Suzuki Press Office - September 26.

Grid positions for Catalan GP:

Joan Mir: 8th - 1’39.628
Alex Rins: 13th - 1’39.751

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders will enter what both consider to be their home race with good pace and confidence, despite struggling slightly in Saturday’s highly competitive qualifying sessions.

Joan Mir was showing good form in FP3 and he crucially managed to cling on to a place in the afternoon’s Q2 session by finishing 10th. During FP4 he continued to work on his race set-up, trying tyre options and setting decent laps on used rubber. He closed FP4 in third place. Times were tightening all day between the top riders and Q2 was closely contested. In his first outing Mir placed second, and during his second run he set a personal best lap, bringing his time down to a 1’39.628. He completed qualifying in eighth place, meaning a third row start for the Mallorcan tomorrow.

After finishing 14th in FP3, Alex Rins missed out on a place in Q2 and was forced to fight it out in a highly competitive Q1 session. In FP4 he placed close to the Top 10 but finished the session in 13th place. Rins pushed hard in Q1 and set some good laps, bringing his time down to 1’39.751 and placing second, but just moments before the end of the session he was pushed out of the top two positions. He will therefore start the Catalan GP from 13th on the grid. However, he is feeling ready for the battle.

Davide Brivio - Team Manager:

“Today was positive in terms of our riders’ race pace, and they are both happy with their GSX-RRs. Everyone struggled a bit today due to the lower temperatures, but we have a competitive pace anyway. Joan qualified on the third row which is an improvement compared to last week, and Alex only missed Q2 by a very small amount. I’m sure both riders can have a good race tomorrow, we’re looking forward to it.”

Joan Mir:

“My target was the second row, and I came close to it. I’m still trying to improve my qualifying performances, but it takes time and I’m working on it. I’m happy with eighth but I struggled to make one quick lap today so that cost me a higher place, but my race pace is there. I will give everything tomorrow to have a strong race, it’s going to be very competitive I think!”

Alex Rins:

“I just needed one more flying lap in Q1 and I’m sure I could’ve made it into final qualifying, I was so close! But anyway, I feel good with my race pace so I think I can get a nice result. I will fight tomorrow and try to put passes in on those around me to get the best position I can.”

GRAN PREMI MONSTER ENERGY DE CATALUNYA
QUALIFYING RESULTS:

1. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 1'38.798
2. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 1'39.008 0.210 / 0.210
3. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1'39.129 0.331 / 0.121
4. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 1'39.225 0.427 / 0.096
5. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1'39.371 0.573 / 0.146
6. Johann ZARCO Esponsorama Racing 1'39.378 0.580 / 0.007
7. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'39.495 0.697 / 0.117
8. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'39.628 0.830 / 0.133
9. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati Team 1'39.641 0.843 / 0.013
10. Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'39.659 0.861 / 0.018
11. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1'39.713 0.915 / 0.054
12. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1'40.188 1.390 / 0.475
13. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'39.751 Q1
14. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 1'39.777 Q1
15. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'39.973 Q1
16. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1'39.988 Q1
17. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 349.5 1'40.109 Q1
18. Alex MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1'40.164 Q1
19. Iker LECUONA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1'40.490 Q1
20. Stefan BRADL Repsol Honda Team 1'40.721 Q1
21. Bradley SMITH Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'40.838 Q1
22. Tito RABAT Esponsorama Racing 1'41.013 Q1

Barcelona-Catalunya Image Gallery: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS




For more stories about Alex Rins, Click Here. For photos, Click Here.

For more stories about Joan Mir, Click Here. For photos, Click Here.

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