Andrea Iannone's teammate at Suzuki is steadily continuing his learning of the MotoGP category and his Qatar Grand Prix went well as he finished in the top half of the riders classified at the finish. He even managed to overtake Jonas Folger in the last curve during the last lap, thus snatching the place of best beginner.
Qualified in eighteenth position on the grid, Alex did not lose his calm in the midst of the adventures which agitated the minutes preceding the start and he got off to a good start, completing the first lap in twelfth position just behind Jack Miller et Callus Crutchlow.
He progressed and moved to tenth position on the seventh lap, closely squeezed by Aleix Espargaro, Jorge Lorenzo and Loris Baz. Lorenzo and Petrucci then overtook him, then Rins got into a nice fight with Jonas Folger for ninth position. With two laps remaining, the two rookies were riding isolated, two seconds behind Jack Miller and four ahead of Lorenzo.
In the last corner, the Spaniard managed to get ahead of the German, and he crossed the finish line two tenths before him. Note that he achieved the tenth time in the race in 1'56.689, faster than Jorge Lorenzo, Alvaro Bautista, Scott Redding and Jack Miller.
Upon arrival, Alex Rins was very enthusiastic: “ My feeling is that it’s been an incredible race. I learned a lot more than during the tests. At the beginning I had a very good start and then, during the race, I had a little difficulty overtaking the faster drivers.
“I think we have a very competitive bike to get into the top 10 on a regular basis. And for the next races, we will need to work more during free practice in order to start the race in better conditions. »
According to Davide Brivio, the team manager of the Suzuki team, “ We are extremely happy for Alex's absolutely brilliant debut. He finished ninth, just 14 seconds behind the race winner. He kept a good pace and was very fast at the end of the race. He fought well and I think he was able to learn a lot and turned out to be a real rider.
“We are extremely proud of him and I believe this experience was useful for him too. He will benefit from it in the future. I'm looking forward to the next race to see how we can maintain our competitiveness with Andrea and improve further with Alex. In this first race we saw some good signs and have reason to be positive. »
Ranking :
Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 38m 59.999s
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 39m 0.460s
Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 39m 1.927s
Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39m 6.744s
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39m 7.127s
Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 39m 7.660s
Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 39m 9.781s
Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 39m 14.485s
alex rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 39m 14.787s
Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 39m 15.068s
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 39m 20.515s
Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 39m 21.254s
Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 39m 28.827s
Karel Abraham CZE Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP15) 39m 29.122s
Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 39m 29.469s
Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 39m 33.600s
Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 39m 39.703s
Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 39m 47.130s
