While the pre-season tests and free practices had not been entirely favorable, the new recruit of the Suzuki team had a magnificent start to the race on the Losail circuit. The fiery Andrea got a little hasty afterwards and his performance was cut short, but his speed during the first laps is a guarantee of promise for future Grands Prix.
Preliminary testing had been very disappointing for The Maniac and his GSX-RR, with thirteenth position about a second behind. Maverick Vinales, behind for example the Aprilia ofAlex Espargaro. The first two free practice sessions of the Grand Prix were of the same level, with seventeenth place overall at the end of FP2.
Everything suddenly changed for the third free session, when Suzuki returned to last year's chassis, with the second time which will become definitive when the qualifying session is canceled. Iannone therefore started from the middle of the first row between Maverick Vinales et Marc Marquez.
The Suzuki got off the grid excellently, only ahead of Johann zarco in the first turn. Iannone was then overtaken by Marc Marquez with whom he fought hard. Andrea Dovizioso arrived with his Ducati behind the two men, then passed them one after the other, thus seizing second position behind Johann Zarco who fell shortly after.
Behind Dovi, Iannone pressed Marquez closely to try to pass him, because Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi were pointing at the fairings of their Yamahas by more than a second on the fourth lap, then only a tenth at the end of the tenth loop. While trying to pass Marquez, Iannone passed several times flush with his rear wheel, until he touched it and fell without gravity during the eleventh lap.
The performance had been magnificent, the turnaround since the start of testing was brilliant, and the start of the race was splendid, “like Zarco”. Andrea Iannone has proven that he can be effective on the Suzuki (at least with the 2016 chassis), and we can be sure to find this pair at the forefront this year.
At the end of his race, Andrea Iannone declared “I'm sorry for the fall because I ruined a positive race. After the test we continued to improve, even here over the weekend. My feeling is not 100% yet, but we have room for improvement, which is a positive thing.
“The truth is I made a mistake. I hit another rider, which caused my crash. It's a shame because I could have been even faster and I had a good chance. I am to blame for the mistake. Let this be a lesson for the future.
“Although I didn't feel completely comfortable, I should have waited for a better situation to pass a slower runner and not be so impulsive. I made a mistake and I really hope it's the first and last time.
“Suzuki had worked very hard over the winter for me. They gave me a high-performance machine, they have confidence in me, and I really want to repay them in the best way with better results. »
To Ken Kawauchi, the technical director of the team, “ The result for Andrea is a real shame, but this weekend we made substantial improvements. We struggled during testing, especially with him, but here during the race weekend we improved.
“In the race he showed an efficient performance and fought well until the accident. I want to thank Andrea. We still need to improve the bike to achieve better results in the future. »
Photos © Suzuki
