Drama-filled #EmiliaRomagnaGP sees Rins take 6th, Mir DNF

Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli put on its usual thrilling pre-race display and the atmosphere was electric for the 27 lap Emilia-Romagna GP and round 16. Despite a tough day for Suzuki, a dramatic race unfolded, resulting in a brand new champion in the form of Fabio Quartararo.

Alex Rins and Joan Mir had work to do from their grid positions of 13th and 18th, but with the track finally dry they were hopeful for a strong race. The start saw many riders bunching up before the pack opened out a little. Rins quickly made his way into 11th while Mir was 15th. On the third lap of the race it was announced that Mir had jumped the start and he received a double long lap penalty. Just after this message was received, the Mallorcan sadly went down with Danilo Petrucci and he was out of the race. Both riders were uninjured.

Now the sole representative for Suzuki in the race, Rins was determined to mix it with the big group which led to the podium. He proceeded to make up several places with solid moves in the next laps, reaching seventh by Lap 14. One lap later he was up to sixth, and despite the gaps in the field widening, Rins didn’t give up as he worked hard to defend his spot. After plenty of drama in the closing laps of the race, he came across the line with sixth and a decent handful of points which moves him up to 11th in the standings.

Team Suzuki Ecstar would like to pass their congratulations to newly crowned MotoGP™ World Champion Fabio Quartararo and the Monster Yamaha Team who have done a fantastic job this season.

Alex Rins

First of all, congrats to Fabio, he had an amazing year and today he took the title. From my side, I gave 100% in this race, but with the fresh tyres I was struggling to catch the guys in front of me. I was very focused on getting to the front but it wasn’t possible, I was a long way back, but I kept fighting to improve my position and I was able to make some good passes. I got sixth, which is not too bad, especially as I didn’t finish here last time out. Next we’ll move to Portimão where I hope to do better.

Joan Mir

Honestly, it was a difficult weekend for me from Friday onward and it was always going to be a tricky task today. I had a jump start penalty because I had a moment of doubt about whether I had set the launch control or not; starting from 18th isn’t easy, and when I tried to check, I moved a little bit and obviously that counts as a jump start so I had to take a penalty. Then I made a mistake with the crash and I feel I should’ve managed the race situation better, so I want to apologise to the team. Fabio was the best this season by far, and although I’m feeling sad that I couldn’t defend my title, I want to congratulate him and all his team because they have been very impressive this year.