Qatar GP – Rins (4th): "We are all satisfied with this result"
Alex Rins is having a particularly good start to his 2019 MotoGP season with a satisfactory 4th place in Qatar behind Dovizioso, Marquez and Crutchlow. The podium was within easy reach of the Suzuki rider, constantly at the forefront but victim of a small error three laps from the finish. His teammate Joan Mir finished his first MotoGP race in 8th position. Debriefing.
Alex Rins, Suzuki Ecstar (10th in qualifying and 4th in race) : "It’s an incredible start to the season which shows all the hard work that was done in the winter. The race pace was rather slow and I was looking to squeeze in front to open up a gap, but Dovizioso and Marquez overtook me in the straight and it was hard".
- MNC special file :
"We know it’s not the best track for us, but I felt good on the bike and we are all happy with the result".
Site analysis : Alex Rins is definitely on a positive roll with the GSX-RR! The 23-year-old Spaniard – second in the last two races in 2018 – starts off on top of the Qatari GP and comes close to scoring his sixth MotoGP podium.
The case had started badly for the new leader of the Suzuki clan, qualified only 10th despite promising tests. Like, Rins however quickly made his way to the leading group until he took the lead ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez at !
But it was impossible to support the comparison in a straight line with the powerful official Ducati and Honda: their V4s stuck around ten km / h to the in-line 4-cylinder of the Suzuki! The Hamamatsu coat of arms now knows in which area to progress, even if it will be hard since Suzuki no longer has access to regulatory concessions thanks to its good results.
Still, the 2019 GSX-RR seems to have taken another step forward this winter, as evidenced by the relative ease with which Alex Rins and his teammate Joan Mir have distinguished themselves at the forefront. Mir had to lower speed, however, victim of his soft rear tire (medium for Rins).
"I am so happy with this race. […] I learned a lot from the top riders and this is one of the most important and interesting things for me", nevertheless rejoices the reigning Moto2 world champion. , finally 8th in his very first race in the premier class. Not bad at all !
Really slow, this first race in Qatar ?
A word finally on the observation of "rather slow race pace", delivered by Alex Rins who lost the access to the podium after having widened to. According to the Suzuki official, Dovizioso and Marquez would have kept it "under the elbow", even if it means blocking it thanks to their superior v-max when the n ° 42 considered himself able to go faster.
His assertion is partly correct: the course of the race "in procession" is there to testify. Dovizioso and Marquez themselves admit having taken a certain margin to preserve their rear tire – the key to this opening round – and to deal with the tricky cool conditions of the early evening..
However, a glance at the timesheets reveals that the leaders did not amuse the field: the 2019 race lasted 42’36.902 against 42’34.654 in 2018. That is indeed an additional 2.248 seconds … to spread over 22 laps, including the last two during which Marquez and Dovizioso got in the way.
This not-so-high gap is also to be put in perspective with the fact that the race started an hour later: at 8:00 p.m. local time against 7:00 p.m. last year. However, humidity and cold fall quickly at this time in the Middle East, affecting performance even more..
Author interesting indicator: the best lap in the race signed by (cocorico!) Is only one tenth of the lap record held since 2016 by Jorge Lorenzo: 1’55.039 for the French beginner against 1’54.924 for the experienced Mallorcan, i.e. exactly 0.112 sec difference !
Not that slow after all, this race, no ?!
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