Mir and Rins take fourth and sixth in disrupted Styrian GP

Team Suzuki Press Office - August 23.

BMW M GRAND PRIX OF #Styria RACE RESULTS:

Joan Mir: 4th (+ 0.641)
Alex Rins: 6th (+ 1.450)

The final race in a run of three in a row saw yet more dramatic twists and turns, and for Team Suzuki Ecstar it was a case of ‘what might’ve been’ despite strong finishes from both riders.

Joan Mir came into the race after two days of extremely good pace and the second fastest time in morning warm-up. After getting his first ever #MotoGP podium just seven days earlier, he was especially keen to match or better that result. He got the holeshot off the line in the 28 lap race and after briefly slipping to second, he retook the lead on lap five and proceeded to build up a handsome advantage over the field. The Mallorcan was settling into a great rhythm at two and half seconds ahead of the chasing riders. However, a red flag incident on lap 17 saw a halt to the Grand Prix.

Restarting from the positions they held in the first half of the race, Mir once again took the holeshot from ‘pole position’, but by the third lap he had dropped to third place. Despite having a fresh rear tyre left in his allocation, Mir had to restart on a used front, but he valiantly fought to hold on to the best position possible and he crossed the line in a strong fourth place, taking 13 points.

Alex Rins made a good start to the first half of the Styrian GP, slotting into fifth place and although he spent many laps unable to make up positions, he was feeling good on his GSX-RR. As the red flag flew Rins was also finding a good rhythm. In the restart he was unlucky and a poor launch saw him drop to eighth. However, he kept fighting on despite feeling pain in his shoulder and a couple of small mistakes, and at the chequered flag he was able to secure a solid sixth place, and a 10-point boost to his championship standing.

Ken Kawauchi - Technical Manager:

“We could have had a good race, but we were missing some luck - especially in the second half of the race. We wanted to give a really great result to all the Suzuki fans and workers, but unfortunately we couldn’t get another podium today. But I want to thank both riders for their performance and having both of them in Top 6 is great and a first for this season. We’re focusing on the next round at Misano to see if we can get back on the podium there.”

Davide Brivio - Team Manager:

"If we look at the pure performance we can be happy because both riders showed very competitive pace at a fast circuit. Alex got a solid start in race 1 and had good pace, he just missed an opportunity in race 2 due to a little mistake off the start. Joan had a solid lead in the first half of the race with a big gap over the others when the red flag came out. Then he finished fourth on the second part of the race and we can’t be happy with the final result which has been influenced by a decision, or a non-decision, by race direction. The rules clearly state that any rider who exceeds track limits on the last lap must drop one position, especially if they gain from it; in our opinion without the green tarmac run-off Espargaro would've had to brake, being passed also by Joan. So he was able to defend his third position by going wide. Joan had this penalty himself at the beginning of race 1 when he had to drop one place for going wide, but the same thing hasn’t been applied on the last corner in race 2. Anyway I want to take the positives from these races in Austria, which is the third track in a row where we've been highly competitive. We have big potential with the GSX-RR and also with both riders."

Joan Mir:

“Today I really didn’t have luck on my side, but the positive thing is that I was really fast. The truth is that on the last corner Pol went out very wide, outside the track limits, and opened the gas. I didn’t see it very well but I thought that he would be penalised by Race Direction for that. It’s a big shame and I’m unhappy about the inconsistency in the rules. I felt great all weekend, and in the first race I felt I could win for sure, but in the restart I had to go out on the used tyre and it was very hard to hold off the other riders. I gave all I could but in the end I couldn’t do better than fourth. In Misano I’ll try again!”

Alex Rins:

“In the first part of the race I was up the front but it was so hard to pass Pol in front of me, although I was managing the situation. Then in race two I made a big mistake on the start because I released the clutch very quickly and the rear spun and I wheelied, so I lost a lot of ground at the beginning and it was difficult to make up the places. Anyway, I managed to get sixth place which means important points, and the bike actually felt great. My shoulder was a bit painful today but now we have two weeks without a race so hopefully in Misano the pain will be less, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Grand Prix of #Styria – Race Classification:

1. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 16'56.025
2. Jack MILLER Pramac #racing Ducati +0.316
3. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory #racing KTM +0.540
4. #joanmir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.641
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team Ducati +1.414
6. #alexrins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +1.450
7. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda +1.864
8. Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory #racing KTM +4.150
9. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha #MotoGP Yamaha +4.517
10. Iker LECUONA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM +5.068
11. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati Team Ducati +5.918
12. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia #racing Team Gresini Aprilia +6.411
13. Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +7.406
14. Johann ZARCO Esponsorama #racing Ducati +7.454
15. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +10.191
16. Alex MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team Honda +10.524
17. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL Honda +11.447
18. Stefan BRADL Repsol Honda Team Honda +11.943
19. Bradley SMITH Aprilia #racing Team Gresini Aprilia +12.732
20. Michele PIRRO Pramac #racing Ducati +14.349
21. Tito RABAT Esponsorama #racing Ducati +14.548

MotoGP World Standings:

1. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 70
2.Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 67
3. Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 56
4. Brad BINDER KTM RSA 49
5. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 48
6. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 46
7. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 45
8. #joanmir Suzuki SPA 44
9. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 43
10. Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA 35
11. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 32
12. Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 30
13. #alexrins Suzuki SPA 29
14. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA 25
15. Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 15
16. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 15
17. Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 13
18. Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 9
19. Bradley SMITH Aprilia GBR 8
20. Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 7
21. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR 7
22. Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 4
23. Stefan BRADL Honda GER