MotoGP

RINS LOOKING KEEN AT COTA ON DAY 1, MIR GAINING GROUND


Team Suzuki Press Office - April 12.

Alex Rins: 6th - 2:04.353 (+ 0.496)
Joan Mir: 12th - 2:04.851 (+ 0.994)

• Alex Rins makes important progress on Friday.
• Joan Mir finding his feet and not far off the pace.
• Team working hard for tomorrow’s qualifying.

Day 1 at the Circuit of the Americas saw Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders working hard to build on their pace ahead of what could be a challenging weekend in terms of conditions.

Alex Rins has a good affinity with the Texan track and the Spaniard saw a big improvement between the FP1 and FP2 sessions. 15th place and 1.5 seconds off in the morning, Alex closed the first day 6th overall following a strong FP2 which saw him just 0.496 seconds off. He was also the fastest rider through the first sector.

Meanwhile, Joan Mir also made a big step in the afternoon, rising from 15th to 12th and improving his time impressively. The rookie is still learning this unique track with his GSX-RR, but he reported positive feelings.

The afternoon’s FP2 session saw hot competition with the top 12 riders covered by less than one second. With doubts about conditions in tomorrow’s FP3, Rins' 6th place could well be crucial for securing passage to Q2.

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“It has been a positive day. These two sessions were very important as it might rain tomorrow, so we wanted to get a lot done today. Alex did well and stayed in the Top 10, Joan learned a lot today and came very close to the Top 10. So for both our riders it’s been a good Friday, let’s see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow.”

Alex Rins
“I lost a bit of time stuck behind another rider, but I’m still quite satisfied with my lap times today, and I was fastest in Sector 1. We’ve worked well today and we tried a few different tyre combinations. Now I’m thinking about the race, it seems that I could already be in Q2 due to my time in FP2, which would help a lot.”

Joan Mir
“I’m really happy overall because I made big improvement from the morning to the afternoon. I missed out on using a second set of soft tyres to try and push for a fast lap and get into the Top 10 today, but apart from that I feel confident and ready to build on my time further tomorrow.”

GP of the Americas - Combined Classification after Day 1:
1. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 2’03.857 (FP2)
2. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 2’03.901 0.044 / 0.044 (FP2)
3. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 2’04.003 0.146 / 0.102 (FP2)
4. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 2’04.005 0.148 / 0.002 (FP2)
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 2’04.118 0.261 / 0.113 (FP2)
6. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2’04.353 0.496 / 0.235 (FP2)
7. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2’04.364 0.507 / 0.011 (FP2)
8. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 2’04.548 0.691 / 0.184 (FP2)
9. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT 2’04.589 0.732 / 0.041 (FP2)
10. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 2’04.630 0.773 / 0.041 (FP2)
11. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Mission Winnow Ducati 2’04.714 0.857 / 0.084 (FP2)
12. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2’04.851 0.994 / 0.137 (FP2)
13. Danilo PETRUCCI Mission Winnow Ducati 2’04.906 1.049 / 0.055 (FP2)
14. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2’04.953 1.096 / 0.047 (FP2)
15. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 2’05.020 1.163 / 0.067 (FP2)
16. Jorge LORENZO Repsol Honda Team 2’05.169 1.312 / 0.149 (FP2)
17. Johann ZARCO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2’05.491 1.634 / 0.322 (FP2)
18. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2’05.955 2.098 / 0.464 (FP2)
19. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing 2’06.162 2.305 / 0.207 (FP2)
20. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 2’06.204 2.347 / 0.042 (FP2)
21. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 2’06.276 2.419 / 0.072 (FP2)
22. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 2’06.850 2.993 / 0.574 (FP2)

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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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