In the rain in Motegi at the start of Saturday, the Suzuki team received a cold shower. In her enthusiasm to align her test rider Sylvain Guintoli on a GSX-RR in quasi-2020 version, she had apparently forgotten certain points of the regulations. And in particular those concerning the engine... A variation which has not yet been approved, so that it had no right to be cited. The Frenchman's FP1 and FP2 times were therefore canceled. The former WSBK World Champion with Aprilia explains…
Sylvain Guintoli (37 years old), pilot Suzuki ecstar, saw all the times of his tests completed on Friday canceled Japan. This on the grounds that Suzuki provided him with an illegal 2020 engine. He was 19e out of 23 pilots. “ The team misinterpreted the rulest,” said Sylvain Guintoli. " We have openly communicated about what we do here. We then corrected the error for FP3 on Saturday morning. We made a mistake. This cannot be denied. »
Guintoli does not know if the FIM Stewards were on alert or if another team protested. “ We do not know it. We were only informed in the morning, shortly before FP3. The team then did a great job quickly adding a 2019 engine. I didn't have a replacement machine for the FP3. And I was only able to start the session five minutes late. As it was wet, the new engine wouldn't have been very useful anyway... »
Precisely, this 2020 engine from the Suzuki GSX-RR, how is he ? “ The first signs are really good, I noticed it during the first test three weeks ago. We now need to look at this closely. We already have a very nice bike this year and we don't want to destroy the natural base or endanger it. We deal with small progress, we work on small things. But we don't want to sacrifice or risk anything that made us so competitive in 2019. The early signs are really interesting. »
« The biggest advantage of an inline four is that you can build a beautiful chassis around it. And we achieved it "Concludes Guintoli. " We have worked a lot on the engine to make it as efficient as possible over the race distance. We are now working on the bike to make it even more tire-friendly. We try to optimize everything. »
« All manufacturers are looking for more top speed, which is no secret, in particular these two factories equipped with an in-line engine, Yamaha and us » declared the Frenchman. “ Power is one of our weak points. But we have made clear progress in this area since 2018. For example, the Suzuki has since been faster than the Yamaha. However, we always want to go a little faster. But because of the engine architecture, it's not a breeze. With the inline engine, you are limited with the maximum power of the engine. But we are always looking for more power. »
Qualification 2 standings for the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix:
Qualification 1 standings for the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
