In a concert of general satisfaction given by the protagonists of MotoGP when taking stock of the first day of testing of the year 2018 at Sepang, there is a little discordant note that is heard beyond the top 10. It is Suzuki. While both Yamaha, Ducati and Honda assure that the weaknesses of 2017 are already bad memories, the supporters of the GSX-RR are still looking for solutions. Bad news for Iannone who fell twice while stubborn Rins presented himself as the spearhead of the Hamamatsu brand...
Should we be worried about Suzuki yet? Everything is just beginning in Malaysia for the MotoGP field, but there are still worrying signs from the side of the box managed by Davide Brivio. The latter comments: “ We will say that we had different feelings from our two drivers today. Alex Rins was able to be consistent in his times and thus give us good information which will be very useful for us to continue our work here. Unfortunately, Andrea Iannone suffered all day and was never comfortable during heavy braking phases. ».
Or the pitfall that dogged him throughout the 2017 campaign… “ We have some ideas for adjustments for him that we will apply tomorrow and we will see if we can count on progress. Andrea fell twice and it was because he still wanted to attack despite his difficulties. Fortunately, he was not injured. For a first day, it is important for the riders to find their bike and stay on the track. We will continue to work and we will see how it goes tomorrow ».
It will be recalled that Suzuki has three motorcycles competing for these three days of testing since Sylvain Guintoli is also mobilized for the development of the GSX-RR.
MotoGP #Sepang test J.1: Chronos
1. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, 1:59,427 min
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, +0,343 sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati, +0,375
4. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, +0,696
5. Jack Miller, Ducati, 0,751
6. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0,806
7. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0,863
8. Johann Zarco, Yamaha, +0,994
9. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, +1,095
10. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +1,141
11. Alex Rins, Suzuki, +1,200
12. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +1,237
13. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, +1,287
14. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia, +1,439
15. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +1,485
16. Andrea Iannone, Suzuki, +1,600
17. Bradley Smith, KTM, +1,672
18. Franco Morbidelli, Honda, +1,734
19. Álvaro Bautista, Ducati, +2,301
20. Sylvain Guintoli, Suzuki, +2,437
21. Scott Redding, Aprilia, +2,535
22. Yonny Hernandez, Yamaha, +2,626
23. Karel Abraham, Ducati, +2,661
24. Xavier Siméon, Ducati, +3,519
25. Tom Lüthi, Honda, +4,305
26. Michele Pirro, Ducati, +5,340
27. Mika Kallio, KTM, +6,505
