IANNONE SECOND IN DUTCH TT OF ASSEN FIRST DAY

2018-06-29 13:17
• Iannone showing good early form.
• Rins with Top 10 pace.
• Both riders using new spec. engine.

Sunshine and heat welcomed the riders at Assen circuit on Friday morning - a place usually famed for it’s chilly mornings and damp conditions!

Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins used FP1 to get to grips with the new engine spec. which was trialled in Montmelo by Sylvain Guintoli, this is hoped to offer them more power and a slightly better top speed.

In the afternoon’s FP2 session the temperatures soared and the track was registered at 46c. As the heat went up, the lap times dropped. FP2 was a very tight session with riders separated by tiny margins. Andrea Iannone was strong throughout and placed himself 2nd with a 1:33.499, just +0.121 from the top. Alex Rins hovered around the Top 10 all session and completed FP2 with a 1:34.047 and 9th place. This means both riders are provisionally through to tomorrow’s Q2.

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“It’s been a positive day, Andrea did a very good lap at the end with the soft tyre, but also we were able to improve the bike during the sessions with the settings, and it looks like now it’s more comfortable. Alex also did a very good session, making his best laps with the hard tyre. It’s been a good practice with both riders in the Top 10 at the moment, so we’ll try to keep that performance for tomorrow and see how we can progress.”

Andrea Iannone
“I think it’s been a positive FP2 for us and we worked well during the afternoon. And we improved a lot compared to this morning, because in FP1 I struggled a bit with stability. We need to make one more big step because we’re losing traction, especially in the long corner, and we’re getting a lot of sliding and spinning. We’ll try to improve for tomorrow. I don’t feel the new spec engine that much at this track, but for sure it’s always positive to improve the engine.”

Alex Rins
“I can feel the improvement in power delivery from the new engine spec. on the straight. In the middle of the corners and the corner exits, the engine is working in the same way, so it’s mainly on the straight where it gives us a bit more power and thanks to this I can be faster on the straights. We’ve started this weekend well and we’re working step-by-step on race set-up. Tomorrow we’ll work on the stability of the bike.”

Info.
Circuit: TT Circuit Assen - Netherlands
Air Temperature: 23c
Track Temperature: 46c
Humidity: 59%

GP of Assen - Combined Classification after Day 1:
1. Maverick VIÑALES Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1:33.378
2. Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1:33.499 0.121 / 0.121 (FP2)
3. Danilo PETRUCCI Alma Pramac Racing 1:33.764 0.386 / 0.265 (FP2)
4. Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1:33.779 0.401 / 0.015 (FP2)
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1:33.812 0.434 / 0.033 (FP2)
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1:33.859 0.481 / 0.047 (FP2)
7. Jorge LORENZO Ducati Team 1:33.870 0.492 / 0.011 (FP2)
8. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1:34.041 0.663 / 0.171 (FP2)
9. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1:34.047 0.669 / 0.006 (FP2)
10. Johann ZARCO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:34.133 0.755 / 0.086 (FP2)
11. Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1:34.167 0.789 / 0.034 (FP2)
12. Hafizh SYAHRIN Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:34.246 0.868 / 0.079 (FP2)
13. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:34.318 0.940 / 0.072 (FP2)
14. Alvaro BAUTISTA Angel Nieto Team 1:34.484 1.106 / 0.166 (FP2)
15. Karel ABRAHAM Angel Nieto Team 1:34.522 1.144 / 0.038 (FP2)
16. Jack MILLER Alma Pramac Racing 1:34.535 1.157 / 0.013 (FP2)
17. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1:34.576 1.198 / 0.041 (FP2)
18. Bradley SMITH Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:34.700 1.322 / 0.124 (FP2)
19. Franco MORBIDELLI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1:34.820 1.442 / 0.120 (FP1)
20. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:34.822 1.444 / 0.002 (FP2)
21. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1:34.855 1.477 / 0.033 (FP2)
22. Scott REDDING Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:34.970 1.592 / 0.115 (FP2)
23. Thomas LUTHI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1:36.129 2.751 / 1.159 (FP2)
24. Xavier SIMEON Reale Avintia Racing 1:36.955 2.779 / 0.028 (FP2)

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story