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MotoGP, Rins: Suzuki fast like in Vinales' day? This is the path

Iannone: "I'm suffering on the flying lap but now have clearer ideas as to the path to take to develop the bike"

MotoGP: Rins: Suzuki fast like in Vinales' day? This is the path

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One of the revelations of the Buriram test proved to be Alex Rins. The Spaniard closed the day just behind Marquez, and less than four tenths from the front, further demonstrating his progress on board the Suzuki. He is looking confident.

“I'm very excited because the times show that our work is paying off. Here in Thailand we were able to test all the material, including the new fairing, which gave me a great impression”.

Rins talks more about the aerodynamics.

With the longer fairing, I must say that I feel more competitive at this track, in fact the Suzuki was more effective in terms of acceleration.  Now we'll see how things go in Qatar”.

Alex is continuing along the path taken at Sepang.

The bike is practically identical to that used two weeks ago in Malaysia . The engine and the frame are the same ones. Last season my many injuries slowed me down, there was no continuity. Now I am able to be consistent, perhaps I need to work more no race pace, but in terms of braking we've taken a big step forward I think”.

Many dream of seeing the Japanese bike as fast as it was in Vinales' day.

I think we're on the right track, the bike has grown and we are all keen to score results. Our aim is to fight for the podium, seeing as we now have more experience”.

On the other side of the garage, Andrea Iannone is forced to play catch-up, closing more than a second from the front.

I'm not 100% happy with this test - comments The Maniac – although there has been gradual improvement. I struggle with fresh tyres on the flying lap unfortunately, as we already saw the day before, while in terms of pace I'm more competitive on used tyres”.

Andrea is trying to remain optimistic.

“I see things more clearly now. I say this in reference to the path we need to take to develop the bike. We'll work in this direction starting from the Qatar test, trying to be quicker on the single lap”.   

To close, the Suzuki rider sums up his three days by giving himself a grade.

“I personally think it's been positive. For the flying lap, I'd give myself a -1, I need to understand why I'm struggling so much. As for pace, I'd go with a 7. I'm more confident about that, though we're not yet ready to win”.

Translated by Heather Watson
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