SIXTH AND SEVENTH FOR SUZUKI ON OPENING NIGHT OF SEASON

Team Suzuki Ecstar kicked off their 2022 campaign under the lights of Losail International Circuit, where an electric atmosphere greeted the grid and fireworks illuminated the night’s sky.

Joan Mir at Losail
Joan Mir at Losail
Suzuki Racing

MotoGP

SIXTH AND SEVENTH FOR SUZUKI ON OPENING NIGHT OF SEASON


Team Suzuki Press Office – March 6.

Joan Mir: 6th – +4.843s
Alex Rins: 7th – +8.810s

Team Suzuki Ecstar kicked off their 2022 campaign under the lights of Losail International Circuit, where an electric atmosphere greeted the grid and fireworks illuminated the night’s sky.

Both Joan Mir and Alex Rins opted for the soft-medium tyre combination for the 22 -lap race and the pair got off to good starts, slotting into sixth and tenth respectively. By the end of the first lap, Mir had carved through to fourth, and a few laps later Rins was also up two places to eighth, setting the fastest lap in the process. The GSX-RRs displayed great top speed, and an improved race pace, indicating promising results ahead.

With 10 laps left in the Qatar GP, Mir and Rins had settled into a rhythm and were running sixth and seventh. However, both riders began to struggle a little with feeling and grip, thus preventing further progression. While Mir kept on with his mission to chase fifth place, with a small gap between himself and the position, Rins opted for a clever strategy; trying not to push over the limit to close the wide gap in the field. They both secured some points from Round 1.

Joan Mir:

“Honestly today has been disappointing, I was expecting more from this race. Our bike has definitely improved and that was clear to us – the rhythm and speed were better than last year. I started out well and I felt good at the beginning of the race, but then I started to lose the feeling with the rear and it became very difficult to make progress, especially in the last laps, and I couldn’t get more than sixth. So, this is something we’ll need to look into, to try and get more grip, for the coming races.”

Alex Rins:

“It was a bit strange today, because I suffered a little bit in the first part of the race when it came to overtaking the other riders. But then when I was alone on the track, and wanting to close the gap up to Joan, I pushed a lot but I didn’t feel very good in the corners; So instead of ending in the gravel I wanted to bring the bike home.”

Livio Suppo – Team Manager:

“For sure these aren’t the results we hoped for, especially after the strong pace on Friday, but anyway we still feel positive because the race was super-fast up front and both Joan and Alex had good pace. We also saw how much the bike has improved on the straights, so that will be useful in the coming races. We need to analyse the data to understand exactly what we lacked today. It’s a long championship and it’s good that both our riders scored points and got off to a decent start; we are looking forward to Indonesia in a couple of weeks. It’s my first weekend back in the paddock for four years, and I want to thank Sahara-san for his trust in me, I’m determined to have a great season all together with the team. I would like to extend my congratulations to the Gresini family. I am sure Fausto would be proud of their job.”

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:

“This weekend we showed the potential of our riders and our bike, but in the end we couldn’t turn this into really top results. It’s a pity but it’s only the first race of the season, and the first with our new bike. We will continue to learn and see how our bike performs at the next circuits, which are all very different. Joan and Alex brought home some nice points. Let’s see what happens in Indonesia.”

GRAND PRIX OF QATAR RACE CLASSIFICATION:

1 Enea BASTIANINI Gresini Racing MotoGP 42’13.198
2 Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 42’13.544 0.346
3 Pol ESPARGARO Repsol Honda Team 42’14.549 1.351
4 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing 42’15.440 2.242
5 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 42’17.297 4.099
6 Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 42’18.041 4.843
7 Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 42’22.008 8.810
8 Johann ZARCO Pramac Racing DUCATI 42’23.734 10.536
9 Fabio QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha 42’23.741 10.543
10 Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 42’28.165 14.967
11 Franco MORBIDELLI Monster Energy Yamaha 42’29.910 16.712
12 Maverick VIÑALES Aprilia Racing 42’36.414 23.216
13 Luca MARINI Mooney VR46 Racing Team 42’40.481 27.283
14 Andrea DOVIZIOSO WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP 42’40.572 27.374
15 Remy GARDNER Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 42’54.305 41.107
16 Darryn BINDER WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP 42’54.317 41.119
17 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Gresini Racing MotoGP 42’54.547 41.349
18 Raul FERNANDEZ Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 42’55.555 42.357
Not Classified:
89 Jorge MARTIN Pramac Racing
63 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati Lenovo Team
88 Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
73 Alex MARQUEZ LCR Honda CASTROL
72 Marco BEZZECCHI Mooney VR46 Racing Team
43 Jack MILLER Ducati Lenovo Team

RIDERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATION:

1 Enea BASTIANINI 25
2 Brad BINDER 20
3 Pol ESPARGARO 16
4 Aleix ESPARGARO 13
5 Marc MARQUEZ 11
6 Joan MIR 10
7 Alex RINS 9
8 Johann ZARCO 8
9 Fabio QUARTARARO 7
10 Takaaki NAKAGAMI 6
11 Franco MORBIDELLI 5
12 Maverick VIÑALES 4
13 Luca MARINI 3
14 Andrea DOVIZIOSO 2
15 Remy GARDNER 1
16 Darryn BINDER 0
17 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO 0
18 Raul FERNANDEZ 0

Qatar Image Gallery: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

Championship points: CLICK HERE




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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Mark McGhee (608)

I was born a century too late, or maybe too early.
I like to ride motorcycles and write about that.

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