8th place for Alex Rins in Phillip Island race
A solid race at the Phillip Island circuit allowed Team SUZUKI ECSTAR to achieve a favourable result, with Alex Rins finishing in 8th after a consistent race, very close to the leading group.
With wet and cold conditions in the morning’s warm-up, both riders struggled to maintain an effective performance.
With temperatures rising and the sun drying the track for the afternoon, the improvements made recently in the setups paid off and allowed both riders to perform more effectively.
Alex Rins executed an effective jump as the red light went off and then immediately overtook several other riders, advancing his position at the first corner. Getting into the race, the Spaniard was able to immediately set a confident pace that allowed him to gain positions and stay close to the leading group of eight, leaving a sizable gap between him and the rest that followed. His whole race was a solid and consistent one. Despite not being able to get into the fight for the top six, he kept the pace in the front. Only in the very final laps did he have to let up which created a small gap with the 7th place rider. Fortunately this did not affect his position and he finished in 8th.
Alex Rins
“I’m very happy for the result because this weekend has been a very complicated one thanks to the variable and hard weather conditions. But today I felt really good and the position was not bad at all. I was able to stay with the leading group for nearly the whole race, but then with six or seven laps to go I had to give up because the rear grip had a big drop. It was getting worn and I couldn’t make any further attempts. The GSX-RR behaved very well and I’m happy. The fight in the leading group has been very fierce and it was nice to see both our Suzuki’s in the mix. This means that the development that we are doing on the bike is working, and I feel I’m improving myself as well, which give me confidence for the future.”