Maverick Vinales feared him and said it at a press conference SATURDAY; the Suzukis would have problems at the end of the race. And that's exactly what happened.
After a start to the race during which Maverick Vinales took command and Alex Espargaro was part of an extremely compact group of eight riders, the Hamamatsu motorcycles gradually lost ground, to the point of no longer being out of the camera's field in the second half of the race.
This is either a frustrating result after the victory at Silverstone, as seems to think Ken Kawauchi, an encouraging result after 5th place and the retirement in Misano. All, of course, depending on whether we see the glass half empty or half full...
We will still note that the Suzukis are getting closer and closer to the best Hondas and Yamahas, even in normal conditions, and have, at least for this time, completely eclipsed the Ducatis... Progress is therefore constant and so are the aspirations.
Has Andrea Iannone finally made the right choice for 2017?
Maverick Vinales, 4th: “Another positive race for me, although I'm never completely satisfied when I'm not on the podium, but we have to say that we gave 100% today. When the grip allowed me, I was able to have a really good pace and, in fact, I took the lead of the race. I felt really confident and the times came quickly and easily. Then suddenly the rear tire lost its efficiency due to consumption and that's when I had to ease up a little. I couldn't feel confident when braking hard, and also when accelerating, and trying to push the pace I made a few mistakes which prompted me to be more careful in my riding. It was important not to fall and to finish the race; Fourth is much better than a 'DNF'. We knew I could have problems towards the end of the race with a worn tire, we tried to do something with the electronics, but we always developed these settings better. We are continually learning and my crew has really done a good job, we are getting better and better and the results of the last races are proof of that.”
Alex Espargaro, 7th: “I had higher hopes for the race, especially being more competitive at the start because of the progress we made during the warm up this morning which gave me higher hopes. The start was positive but I then struggled a lot to overtake and get to fifth position in the second part of the race, which was the position I needed to keep in touch with the lead. When I did, it was too late to close the gap. Anyway, my feeling was a little better than in the last races but I'm still struggling to find good sensations with the front. I can't interpret the front tire and exploit its potential. We made a lot of attempts and changes but I can't adapt my riding style, and therefore I can't be as fast as I would like to be. I really had a good fight until the end, but finally I made a little mistake on the last lap and lost sixth position.”
