And three, with Sylvain Guintoli! If, in this Grand Prix season, we have two French people at the top of their form, during the last MotoGP test in Catalonia, a third tricolor thief pointed at the wheel of a Suzuki GSX-RR that he had lost sight of since a little moment. The one we will find at the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend replaced the injured Alex Rins at short notice. But who should be at his post in ten days, on the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix.
Because alex rins was injured after a traffic accident while training on a bike, Sylvain Guintoli found himself on the GSX-RR during the MotoGP test in Montmelo. At the Catalan Grand Prix, the Frenchman 38 years old still working as a pundit for BT Sport.
« This test was a pleasure for me, I haven't ridden the GSX-RR since the Qatar test ", said the test pilot Suzuki. " My feeling was very good. I was a little worried that after such a long time of not being on the bike, with everyone else just coming out of the race, that I would get completely dismantled in terms of lap times “, he admitted with a smile. “ In fact, I got good feedback from the bike and the tires ».
« I finished the test program very well, I completed 72 laps, it was a solid test. I've done benchmark testing and worked on a wide range of things, including swing arm ", said Guintoli who did not go into further detail.
Guintoli happy, Rins convalescing, and Joan Mir?
Meanwhile, alex rins working hard to be ready for the next one German Grand Prix. And it is necessary because this out-of-competition accident linked to four consecutive Grand Prix falls puts the Spaniard in a delicate position in the Suzuki box. His chief engineer Manuel Cazeaux admits: “ we are going through the worst phase since he was part of the project he says. " The falls at Portimao and Mugello were similar. He fell after a small mistake. At Jerez and Le Mans there were bigger mistakes. We need to stay calm now and stay together as a team ».
And for good reason: no one within it is talking about the title of world champion for No. 42 anymore. “ Our focus has changed. We need to get over it and consistently achieve good results to regain confidence. This is the only way to show that he can fight for the top places », declares the team leader who has no doubt about the abilities of his protégé. “ His Sunday performances have always delighted us. Despite not particularly good training, he kept coming back on Sunday ", Explain Manuel Cazeaux.
After seven races, alex rins is in 15th place in the driver standings. In previous races, the driver Suzuki had collected 23 points.
For his part, the World Champion Joan mir commented on his test day in Catalonia: “ It was a good day of testing. We didn't have a lot to test, but we worked on geometry, things like my position on the bike and electronics. Everything was positive. I also worked a little on the shock absorber adjustment ", said Mir. " I was able to provide the team with important feedback and information on a number of areas. Now they will work on all this and analyze the data », added the factory driver Suzuki, who still criticized his employer this weekend for his lack of audacity in the evolution of the GSX-RR…
MotoGP Test Catalonia: times
Credit classification motogp.com
