Sunday saw Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders take to the track once again for the second day of testing under the lights at Losal Circuit in Qatar. These crucial early outings on the GSX-RR are proving positive for the squad, as more comparisons and adjustments were made, and the riders gave good feedback.

Joan Mir finished Day 2 with a positive mood thanks to the feeling of the bike and his progress so far. He worked on many different areas, including a comparison of different chassis items. Mir closed the second day in 8th place with a 1’54.515 and a total of 48 laps.

Alex Rins started the day on the 2021 GSX-RR before heading out on the 2022-spec. machine later on in the session. Despite a crash at the end of the day he managed to collect plenty of useful information. Rins did 49 laps with a best time of 1’54.658 and 10th place.

Meanwhile, Sylvain Guintoli continued his work which today focused more in the areas of chassis options and suspension, rather than the engine. The Frenchman is feeling more and more comfortable with the bike and he will continue working next week.

Team Suzuki Ecstar will be back on track in Qatar on March 10th.


Ken Kawauchi - Technical Manager:

“Yesterday was mostly about the riders getting used to the machines, and then from today we have started to work more intensely. Alex tried the first version of the 2022 engine today, and Joan worked on the chassis area. Sylvain continued testing and collecting a lot of data. Alex had a little crash in the last couple of minutes, but luckily he is fine and no problems. Now we’ll check everything and prepare for the next three days of testing.”

Joan Mir:

“It was a tough day because we tried lots of new things such as the new spec. chassis items, some things with the electronics, and some tyres. We tried to find the best way forward and I’m happy with the performance, and my lap times so far. The team and I have done a really good job, the test has been positive, and for sure we feel prepared for the next three days of testing at the end of next week.”

Alex Rins:

“I’m feeling quite good, today went pretty well and we tried quite a few different things. I tried the first version of the engine for 2022, which felt good and seems that it might have a bit more speed. After that we tried a few other small things. The times are really tight, but I’m happy with my pace at the moment. I had a small crash at Turn 2 at the end of the day, but there were no consequences. I’m looking forward to the next testing days.”

Sylvain Guintoli:

“Today we carried on working with the chassis, trying some aerodynamic variations. We found some good things and some not-so-good things in those areas, and it was really interesting to compare everything. I also worked on suspension and some smaller adjustments. I felt much better riding today; I’m more used to being on the bike now after 5 months without riding!”

Qatar Test, Day 2 – Classification:

1. Fabio QUARTARARO - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP - 1'53.940
2. Jack MILLER - Ducati Lenovo Team - 1'54.017 - +0.077
3. Aleix ESPARGARO - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 1'54.152 - +0.212
4. Franco MORBIDELLI - Petronas Yamaha SRT - 1'54.153 - +0.213
5. Stefan BRADL - Honda Test Team - 1'54.210 - +0.270
6. Johann ZARCO - Pramac Racing - 1'54.356 - +0.416
7. Maverick VIÑALES - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP - 1'54.395 - +0.455
8. Joan MIR - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'54.515 - +0.575
9. Francesco BAGNAIA - Ducati Lenovo Team - 1'54.651 - +0.711
10. Alex RINS - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'54.658 - +0.718
11. Miguel OLIVEIRA - Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'54.666 - +0.726
12. Pol ESPARGARO - Repsol Honda Team - 1'54.673 - +0.733
13. Takaaki NAKAGAMI - LCR Honda IDEMITSU - 1'54.690 - +0.750
14. Alex MARQUEZ - LCR Honda CASTROL - 1'54.952 - +1.012
15. Yamaha TEST1 - Yamaha Test Team - 1'55.306 - +1.366
16. Enea BASTIANINI - Avintia Esponsorama - 1'55.486 - +1.546
17. Lorenzo SAVADORI - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 1'55.570 - +1.630
18. Luca MARINI - SKY VR46 Avintia - 1'55.605 - +1.665
19. Jorge MARTIN - Pramac Racing - 1'55.632 - +1.692
20. Valentino ROSSI - Petronas Yamaha SRT - 1'55.708 - +1.768
21. Danilo PETRUCCI - Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing - 1'55.795 - +1.855
22. Yamaha TEST2 - Yamaha Test Team - 1'55.867 - +1.927
23. Iker LECUONA - Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing - 1'55.873 - +1.933
24. Brad BINDER - Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'55.944 - +2.004
25. Dani PEDROSA - Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'56.452 - +2.512
26. Sylvain GUINTOLI - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'56.762 - +2.822
27. Michele PIRRO - Ducati Test Team - 1'57.895 - +3.955
28. Takuya TSUDA - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'58.910 - +4.970