Alex Rins showcased his undoubted premier class talents as he placed 6th on the final day of testing at Phillip Island. The Spanish rookie was yet again ahead of teammate Andrea Iannone, who failed to improve on his day 2 lap time.
Suzuki worked hard to set a bike up that easier to handle with smoother throttle control, whilst Rins as a rider worked on his riding style. Iannone’s side of the garage wasn’t too bothered about not being able to have a shot at a time attack, as they were working on race setup and speed over a long distance.
“The truth is that I’m very satisfied with these three days of testing. Apart from the best lap, the most important thing is that our progress during the sessions has been consistent and significant, cutting more than 2.3 seconds since Day One, said Rins, delighted with the work he has achieved.
“We are able to better understand the machine and also develop a finer sensitivity with the settings and the changes. With my team, we are working very intensively, and this pays us back in the end. We still have many areas to improve, both in the GSX-RR and in my riding, but our ideas are getting clearer after each session. I also had a little crash today, but this didn’t affect my performance.
Rins isn’t finished yet, and is looking to improve more over the next test and races. “I’m satisfied with these days and confident that we will be able to further improve.”
Iannone was optimistic and certainly more upbeat than day 2, as the GP winner from last season said that the more he rides the bike, the more familiar things are and that gradually, everything is falling into place.
“We understand more-and-more the direction we need to take for the future. I managed a very constructive long run where we could put together all the information collected in these three days and I must say the result was not bad at all, the #29 rider stated.
“Obviously, I couldn´t take advantage of the new tyres for a proper time attack. I ruined the front tyres as I used them so much for the long run attempts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Therefore, my position in the classification is not the one I’d like, but looking overall, we did a good job. We are working on the electronics but not just there.
Iannone recognised that there are areas needing refining to be back near the top like on day 1. “We have many areas where we can make big or small improvements, and we are trying to fix everything. These kinds of tests require time and patience. It is like being a test rider more than a race rider. It is hard to be in the position of tapping the bike´s full potential, but I’m confident that in Qatar we will reap the benefits of this hard work.”
Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko