Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders were raring to go in Indonesia, ready to try the Pertamina Mandalika circuit for the first time. In fact, Alex Rins was the first rider in the field to put in a lap. The morning started off wet, but later in the day the main issue was dust and dirt on the track; due to this there was a long stoppage to allow for circuit cleaning.

Initially the focus was on learning the layout, this was important for the riders – who were trying to get to grips with the racing line - and the crew as they worked to establish the gearing and base settings.

Once this was done, both Rins and Joan Mir aimed to switch their attention to continuing the test plan they were unable to complete in Sepang last week, although this proved difficult with mud and stones still on the surface.

Rins reported great feelings with the track despite the conditions, as he put in 72 laps. His best time was just half a second from the top.

Mir was also impressed with the layout and he was happier when the track was cleaner. He did a total of 58 laps.

The team will remain at the track for another two days of testing.


Alex Rins:

“I really like Mandalika circuit, it’s nice and the layout is unbelievable. Today it was a little bit dirty, so we had to be careful, but lap by lap there was more grip. Overall I’m happy with this first day, we took time to learn how the circuit is, and because of that we didn’t try many things. We want to continue working on some areas that we couldn’t manage in Sepang, let’s see what we can achieve tomorrow.”

Joan Mir:

“I enjoyed today, it was nice to learn the layout but the conditions weren’t the best. In the end there was a grippy racing line, but it took a while to get to that point. The circuit has a good mix of fast places, hard braking, and flowing sections and I like it. Today we didn’t manage to test much, but I was getting quicker as the day went on and hopefully tomorrow we can work on set-up a bit more.”

Ken Kawauchi - Technical Manager:

“The beginning of the test was difficult, not just for us but for everybody, the riders were struggling to get grip in these conditions. The track started out wet, which wasn’t ideal but it was manageable, especially as it dried. But after that we had issues with the dirt. Towards the end of the day we did manage to try a few items, but tomorrow and Sunday we will work a lot more to prepare for the season opener.”

MANDALIKA TEST DAY 1 RESULTS:

1 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'32.466
2 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing APRILIA 1'32.937 0.471 0.471
3 Brad BINDER RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'32.943 0.477 0.006
4 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'33.058 0.592 0.115
5 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1'33.108 0.642 0.050
6 Jack MILLER AUS Ducati Lenovo Team DUCATI 1'33.114 0.648 0.006
7 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Aprilia Racing APRILIA 1'33.147 0.681 0.033
8 Joan MIR SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'33.244 0.778 0.097
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP 1'33.245 0.779 0.001
10 Jorge MARTIN SPA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'33.358 0.892 0.113
11 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU HONDA 1'33.394 0.928 0.036
12 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1'33.518 1.052 0.124
13 Johann ZARCO FRA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'33.592 1.126 0.074
14 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO ITA Gresini Racing MotoGP DUCATI 1'33.683 1.217 0.091
15 Alex MARQUEZ SPA LCR Honda CASTROL HONDA 1'33.700 1.234 0.017
16 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'33.748 1.282 0.048
17 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'33.776 1.310 0.028
18 Enea BASTIANINI ITA Gresini Racing MotoGP DUCATI 1'33.954 1.488 0.178
19 Raul FERNANDEZ SPA Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'33.966 1.500 0.012
20 Luca MARINI ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team DUCATI 1'34.165 1.699 0.199
21 Marco BEZZECCHI ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team DUCATI 1'34.173 1.707 0.008
22 Francesco BAGNAIA ITA Ducati Lenovo Team DUCATI 1'34.318 1.852 0.145
23 Darryn BINDER RSA WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP YAMAHA 1'34.495 2.029 0.177
24 Remy GARDNER AUS Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'34.603 2.137 0.108