Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders converted pace into podium positions with a superb MotoGP victory from Alex Rins and a third place from Joan Mir at the Spanish GP at Aragon at the weekend.
Rins got a very strong start from his 10th place grid spot at this 10th round of the pandemic-affected world series season, sweeping up the outside of several riders to quickly slot into fourth place. By the third lap of the race he was up seven places from grid and into a solid third. From there he got his head down and set the fastest lap of the race, chasing after second place and taking it emphatically on Lap 6.
Just one lap later he was on the tail of the race leader and he kept his cool to take over the head of the race on Lap 9. From there, there was no looking back, he managed his race perfectly and held off a late charge from Repsol Honda’s Alex Marquez to take a fantastic win – a great reward at his home race after a tough start to 2020, and the first for Suzuki this year.
Rins is now 36 points from the top of the championship standings.
Mir kept a clear mind from the start of the race and he was into fifth place by the third lap, where he began to click into the metronomic race pace he’s shown all year. He set his fastest lap on Lap 4 and began carving time out of his rivals.
On the eighth lap he put in a stunning move to pass both Petronas Yamahas of Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo in one fell swoop to take third. Mir then set about catching the leading duo of Rins and Marquez, but as the laps ticked down and the grip lessened, he decided to take the sensible option and settle for a great podium finish and third place.
This crucially puts him into the lead of the championship ahead of next week’s race, also at Aragon.
“I’m full of emotion! At the beginning of the season I really struggled a lot, and since then the team and I have worked so hard, and now we’ve won and it feels amazing!” said Rins afterwards.
“I was not sure that I could win from 10th on the grid, but I was able to do it! When I was chasing down the riders in front of me I could feel that I had good pace and the bike was working really well. I felt really relaxed despite having Alex Marquez and Joan Mir close behind, and I managed the pressure. It will be tricky to replicate this again next weekend, but for sure I will try my best! It feels super to be back on the top step!”
Mir was equally thrilled.
“I’m really happy! All the effort that we’re putting in every race weekend has paid off and I’m now leading the championship,” said Mir.
“In a way, it doesn’t mean a lot because there are still four races to go and a lot can still happen, but it’s a nice situation to be in at the moment. I actually expected a little bit more from today’s race because at the beginning my pace was really good and I maintained everything well, but in the last few laps I started to struggle a bit with the front tyre.
“I had plenty of grip on the rear tyre but in the end it was better to take 3rd than to take a risk. I’m really looking forward to next weekend and hopefully I’ll be able to get an even better result.”
RESULTS & STANDINGS:
Aragon MotoGP Race Classification:
1 Alex RINS Team Suzuki Ecstar 41’54.391
2 Alex MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team +0.263
3 Joan MIR Team Suzuki Ecstar +2.644
4 Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +2.880
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU +4.570
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT +4.756
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team +8.639
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL +8.913
9 Jack MILLER Pramac Racing +9.390
10 Johann ZARCO Esponsorama Racing +9.617
11 Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +13.200
12 Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +13.689
13 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +14.598
14 Iker LECUONA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 +15.291
15 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati Team +15.941
16 Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 +18.284
17 Stefan BRADL Repsol Honda Team +20.136
18 Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT +21.498
19 Bradley SMITH Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +25.300
20 Tito RABAT Esponsorama Racing +25.558
Not classified:
Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 21 Laps
MotoGP World Standings:
1 Joan MIR Suzuki 121
2 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 115 -6
3 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 109 -12
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 106 -15
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 92 -29
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 87 -34
7 Alex RINS Suzuki 85 -36
8 Jack MILLER Ducati 82 -39
9 Pol ESPARGARO KTM 77 -44
10 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 69 -52
11 Brad BINDER KTM 67 -54
12 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 67 -54
13 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 65 -56
14 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 58 -63
15 Johann ZARCO Ducati 53 -68
16 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 42 -79
17 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 27 -94
18 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 21 -100
19 Iker LECUONA KTM 20 -101
20 Bradley SMITH Aprilia 11 -110
21 Stefan BRADL Honda 8 -113
22 Tito RABAT Ducati 8 -113
23 Michele PIRRO Ducati 4 -117