Team SUZUKI ECSTAR completed the second and final day of testing at the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit yesterday with positive improvements and important data collected in preparation of the race next month.
Both Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró improved their lap-times session-by-session as the confidence with the layout got better. Also, SUZUKI ECSTAR engineers could rely on more information collected in the several new runs done by both riders.
The Team and riders will now take benefit of the ‘Summer Break’ - a three-week pause before the 10th round of the MotoGP™ World Championship at the circuit on August 14th.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“Our riders and team had only one day of resting after the race in Germany and we immediately came here to Austria for testing. The riders did a really good job; they ran two fully-intense days where we could compare many test items. We focused on getting acquaintance with the circuit, but we could also test some improvements in electronics and chassis with a new swingarm, as well as some new tyres brought here by Michelin. If we look at the single lap-time we are not at the top and some competitors are faster than us, but looking at the pace we are in a good position. Now we take this whole experience and we go to Japan, we will exploit the ‘Summer Break’ to work on this and prepare for the Austrian GP at our best, in order to come back stronger than where we are now.”
Maverick Viñales:
“This second day confirmed my good impression of the circuit. The layout and the surroundings are very nice, but also it is a very unusual track; it is a typical ‘on/ off track’, with hard accelerations, three long straights and hard braking. This says that those who have the biggest power may be advantaged at this circuit, and for this we have to work more. For sure, today we made some improvements, we were looking for some more traction and some of the solutions we have tried proved to be effective; our engineers will now work on that as we need to get here for the race in our best shape. It won’t be easy, but our pace is not bad and we will do our best to pursue our usual objective; to fight in the top-six.”
Aleix Espargaró:
“Today we worked really hard, especially in the afternoon where we tried different solutions with the electronics and also a different swingarm, to try to find more traction. This circuit is very nice but the full power will play a major role; for this I expect we will be struggling a lot. For sure races are done by the pace also, and on this we worked hard and had positive responses. This summer break will be useful, we will take a rest from the race weekend rhythm, but this will also allow us to look at our issues with clear mind. The second part of the season will be very tough as we will have many back-to-back races, therefore we will come here again for the race with full determination and enthusiasm.”
RED BULL RING TEST – Combined classification:
1. Andrea IANNONE – 1’23.240 2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO – 1’23.680 3. Casey STONER – 1’23.865 4. Jack MILLER – 1’24.049 5. Hector BARBERA – 1’24.091 6. Valentino ROSSI – 1’24.169 7. Jorge LORENZO – 1’24.194 8. Maverick VIÑALES – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1’24.208 9. Aleix ESPARGARÓ – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1’24.335 10. Scott REDDING – 1’24.375 11. Yonni HERNANDEZ – 1’24.396 12. Cal CRUTCHLOW – 1’24.455 13. Eugene LAVERTY – 1’24.497 14. Danilo PETRUCCI – 1’24.602 15. Tito RABAT – 1’24.760 16. Michele PIRRO – 1’25.139 17. Mika KALLIO – 1’25.191 18. Tom LUTHI – 1’25.705 19. Loris BAZ – 1’25.994
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