While his colleagues discovered the Thai Grand Prix in Buriram, Sylvain was much more discreetly smoothing the tarmac of the Motegi circuit with the Suzuki development team. The GSX-RR is progressing by leaps and bounds, and Guintoli clearly has something to do with it.
How did your recent tests go at Motegi to prepare for your future wild card at the Japanese GP?
“These tests were intended to prepare for the Grand Prix, but they were also important for us for development, for the future, for next season. We tested new parts. There will be something new very soon. Suzuki is working even harder now on development. We didn't work specifically on the development for the next GP, it was mainly a development test. »
How is the evolution of the motorcycle taking place? How has it progressed since you started working on it?
“The bike is homogeneous. We saw him recently on different circuits like Aragon and Buriram. It works well with tire wear. There's a bit of engine missing, so we're working on that. There will soon be an evolution.
“We saw that Buriram had significant accelerations, like at the exit of the first and third turns. I thought it would be a difficult race for this reason, but Rins started from far away, got back into the good group and finished 6th, only 3.023 behind the winner.
“So it’s progressing. It is a bike which is now well balanced, which is efficient throughout the duration of the race taking into account tire wear. »
Last year, Suzuki Representative Director and President (CEO & COO) Toshihiro Suzuki came to Motegi for the GP, where Iannone and Rins achieved their best results of the season with 4th and 5th positions ( before: 8th at Misano) Is the presence of the boss that motivating?
“Yes, it’s certainly very motivating to have those in charge who travel. Motegi was a special race last year because it rained. Besides, it was the first time in a long time that he had more every day. All the sessions took place on a wet track and so did the race.
“It’s always motivating for the pilots to have those responsible on site. It is important to see that the company is motivated. It shows the whole team how important the project is to the builder. »
Suzuki has finished on the podium 5 times this year so far (Argentina, Austin, Jerez, Assen and Aragon) including alex rins once second in the Netherlands, 2 seconds behind Marc Marquez. In Aragon, Iannone finished 3rd, 1.2 behind the winner Marquez, and Rins 4th at 2.6. Where does this progress come from compared to 2017 (0 podium, with the same drivers)?
“Last year, the season was made difficult when the winter before an engine choice was validated which was not the right one. And as Suzuki did not have the concessions in 2017, it was impossible to go back. A lot of work was done throughout the season to try to compensate for this deficit.
“This year, we started with a much more efficient base. The current results are also due to Rins who is returning to form and is now one of the strong riders. Iannone is a fast driver and both put in good performances which motivate the team.
“We are now constantly looking for developments. Last winter, everyone saw good progress from the Ducati and big engine progress from the Honda. We talked for a while about Yamaha's difficulties... which suddenly disappeared in Buriram! And Suzuki is still in the game. I hope we will continue in this way and I think that will be the case for the end of the season.
“The Motegi tests also served to confirm the areas of development for next year. That's what MotoGP is: a constant evolution of the performance of the machine, the adaptation of this performance to the capabilities of the tires according to the different circuits, and work on the weak points. »
The second part of this interview will be published early next week.
Suzuki video: “GSX-R1000 & GSX-RR TECH WITH SYLVAIN GUINTOLI” (Added on August 20, 2018)
Photos © Suzuki, Michelin and motogp.com / Dorna
