The pair of pilots of the Hamamatsu brand seems subscribed to the fourth row of the grid. In the two previous appointments, in Qatar and in Mandalika, at least one of them started from that line, to later coincide in it in Argentina, the third stop on the calendar.
However, the perspective that Rins (seventh) and Joan Mir (eighth) have of the time trial at Termas de Río Hondo is slightly different, at least due to the tone of their statements as soon as they get off their bikes.
For the Barcelona native, seventh place is not good but it’s not bad either, it simply reflects the current level of the GSX-RR, at a fast lap. For the Mallorcan, it is necessary not to lose control and find a way to rejoin the first places on the grid in the next rounds, given the importance that the start has taken on in the modern era of the championship.
Both agree, however, that Suzuki must find out how to recover the seven tenths that, this Saturday, separated its two riders from the record that allowed Aleix Espargaró to add his third pole position in the premier class.
“We have more pace than the riders in front, so we’ll go for it. I’m very confident. The key will be the first two laps. If we position ourselves well, we’ll have options to fight for the podium,” summed up Rins, who from the start He was very positive, before falling into the world that separated him from Espargaró’s time.
“The fact that Joan and I are always so close means that we push the bikes to the limit. And we are seven tenths behind the first, so something is happening and something has to be done. We have to see where those seven tenths are,” added the Catalan.
Both he and his workshop neighbor were, most likely, the dominators of the pre-season tests. The rest of the garages pointed to them as the main candidates to win the podium in the first stops on the calendar. And yet, none of them has yet climbed into the drawer.
“I would say that the level of the bike is the same as in preseason, but now riders have appeared who were not there in winter. I don’t think the bike has dropped in level, but the others have improved and we have been a bit stagnant “, deepened the #42.
“The pace we have is not spectacular, and this position (eighth) is not the best to start with,” said Mir, meanwhile. The 2020 world champion had a problem with his first bike at the decisive moment of the second screen of qualifying (Q2), a circumstance that forced him to go out and look for his best lap with the second unit.”I had an electrical problem with the first bike, which wouldn’t start, and I think that, if I had been able to use it, I would have improved a little more,” concluded Mir.
