Team Suzuki Press Office – 18 September
Grid positions for the San Marino GP:
Alex Kidnes: 9 – 1’32.017 (+0.952)
Joanne Mir: 11 – 1’32.426 (+1.361)
The Suzuki Exstar Team riders took to the track on Saturday morning under the sunny sky of San Marino. The laps flown were in the order of FP3 with shorter times than those made in yesterday’s rain sessions.
Joan Mir was quick to jump into action at his early pace and Alex Rins stayed close to his teammate. The pair finished FP3 fourth and eighth respectively, securing a direct pass in the second quarter. Mir showed his strength as the second fastest in sectors 1 and 4 and the third fastest in sector 2.
With the strong race pace, the Suzuki riders decided to focus on tire choice and improve their feelings with the GSX-RR during FP4. Despite their concentration far from making fast laps, Rins finished this session in second place and Mir in fifth.
No qualifying session, Q2, is scheduled for either speed. just out of the box to be on top of the schedule, he turned back as the rest of the group fine-tuned the laps. Likewise, Rins was in the top five at the start of the session. But in the final exits, where all the riders were very close in time, there were several crashes. Subsequent yellow flags struck both Suzuki riders as they lost flight laps and an accidental message on the Mir-Mare dash cost them time for further fast lap attempts. Rins will start tomorrow at the San Marino Grand Prix from 9th, and Mir from 11th.
Alex’s kidneys:
“FP3 and FP4 went very well for me, I felt really good with the bike and the lap times were also good. Tomorrow will be really unpredictable. It could be wet or dry or something in between! The 3rd and 9th grade is very good – especially if it is dry, I am very confident. I gave 100% during qualifying, but in the end we still struggled in this area and we are far from number 1. All the riders are close and we have seen a lot of crashes in those two days, so we will have to be careful. If it’s wet, it’s a lottery, but if it’s dry, I think it can be an interesting fight ”.
Joanne Meyer:
“Overall, I was competitive today and drove really strong. I felt strong and, even if things didn’t go as planned, I am very happy. Qualifying was a shame; we didn’t have a chance to fight for first place and we have far enough. I felt like a second row was possible, but then I had some trouble ahead of my first exit and then I saw a message on my dashboard right after exiting in Round 2. I thought I should stop in case something is wrong. went with the bike, on arrival I influenced my qualification as well as the yellow flag in the last lap launched. There is no point in feeling frustrated, now concentrate on the race knowing that you have a good pace if you can get off to a great start ”.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Director:
“Both riders did really well today and we are happy that they entered the second quarter straight away thanks to the good lap times in FP3. We also had the chance to work on the setup during FP4 and Alex and Joan were satisfied. We couldn’t increase qualifying as best we could, and we’re anchoring with the speed of a lap. We apologize to Joan that she got the wrong message on her dashboard which means she missed some laps. We are not particularly satisfied with our positions on the grid, but we are content with the good pace that both riders showed, let’s see what we can do tomorrow if they can start well ”.
GP OCTO of SAN MARINO and RIVIERA DI RIMINI – Eligible vote:
1. F. BAGNAIA – Ducati Lenovo Team – 01: 31.065
2. J. MILLER – Ducati Lenovo Team – 01: 31.314 – +0.249
3. F. Quartaro – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01: 31.367 – +0.302
4. J Martin – Pramac Racing – 01: 31.663 – +0.598
5. J. ZARCO – Pramac Racing – 01: 31.836 – +0.771
6. P. ESPARGARO – Repsol Honda Team – 01: 31.923 – +0.858
7. Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – 01: 31.935 – +0.870
8. A. ESPARGARO – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01: 31.937 – +0.872
9. It’s raining A – Team Suzuki Xstar – 01: 32.017 – +0.952
10. M. VIÑALES – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – 01: 32.121 – +1.056.27
11. J. MIR – SUZUKI ECSTAR TEAM – 01: 32.426 – +1.361
12. E Bastianini – Avintia Esponsorama – 01: 32.461 – +1.396
13. T. NAKAGAMI – LCR Honda IDEMITSU – 01: 32.210 – Q1
14. M. PIRRO – Lenovo Ducati Team – 01: 32.287 – Q1
15. L. MARINI – SKY VR46 Avintia – 01: 32.289 – Q1
16. F. Morbidelli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – 01: 32.296 – Q1
17. B. Bender – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 01: 32.427 – Q1
18. S. BRADL – Team Honda HRC – 01: 32.439 – Q1
19. A. Marques – LCR Honda CASTROL – 01: 32.476 – Q1
20. I. LECUONA – Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing – 01: 32.481 – Q1
21. M Oliveira – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 01: 32.821 – Q1