MotoGP

PHILLIP ISLAND QUALIFYING HALTED DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS


Team Suzuki Press Office - October 26.

• Qualifying provisionally rescheduled for Sunday morning.
• Team head into race day feeling hopeful despite disruptions.

A tumultuous day two in Phillip Island saw a change in the weather as incredibly strong winds and plummeting temperatures took over from Friday’s mixed bag of rain and sunshine. This left Race Direction with the difficult decision to put a halt to the action.

The morning’s FP3 session brought incredibly challenging conditions with many riders choosing to remain in the pits following an early red flag to clear debris from the track. Team SUZUKI ECSTAR weighed up the risk versus reward and decided there was not much to be gained from the session.

FP4 saw both Alex Rins and Joan Mir running strongly within the Top 10 despite the treacherous track conditions. However, following an increase in the wind and a scary crash for Miguel Oliveira, the red flag was flown with 12 minutes left on the clock. An emergency safety commission meeting, attended by all the riders, took place and it was decided that there should be no further track action on Saturday.

The Q1 and Q2 sessions are provisionally scheduled to take place following Warm-Up on Sunday morning at 10:20 local time. Mir will be out first in Q1, while Rins will go directly to Q2.

Davide Brivio - Team Manager:

“Today the conditions were so difficult and it was a good idea to cancel this afternoon’s qualifying. It’s not easy to go into the race day with so little track time, because yesterday was also very tricky. But it’s the same for everyone, and tomorrow we’ll see what the situation is and try to put together a good race.”

Alex Rins:

“We were asked to attend a meeting when FP4 was red flagged, but this morning in FP3 the weather conditions were even worse than in the afternoon. We were at the limit in terms of safety today. Tomorrow, if we have the same conditions, it will not be sensible to run the race. Without much track time it’s hard to prepare for tomorrow, but I’m hoping to have a good race. I would like to thank all the people who waited in the grandstands hoping to watch us, despite the weather.”

Joan Mir:

“We didn’t really get anything out of today, with these conditions it was just impossible. The right decision was made, because in the end it was too dangerous and the safety of the riders must come first. Anyway, I feel that I have strong pace when the conditions are good, and tomorrow’s forecast looks better - so I think I can do a great race.”

GP of Australia - Combined Classification after Day 1:

1. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1'28.824 (FP2)
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’29.320 0.496 / 0.496 (FP2)
3. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 1’29.325 0.501 / 0.005 (FP2)
4. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati Team 1’29.327 0.503 / 0.002 (FP2)
5. Jack MILLER Pramac Racing 1’29.344 0.520 / 0.017 (FP2)
6. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’29.421 0.597 / 0.077 (FP2)
7. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1’29.436 0.612 / 0.015 (FP2)
8. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’29.472 0.648 / 0.036 (FP2)
9. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT 1’29.718 0.894 / 0.246 (FP2)
10. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’29.791 0.967 / 0.073 (FP2)
11. Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’29.875 1.051 / 0.084 (FP2)
12. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing 1’29.997 1.173 / 0.122 (FP2)
13. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’30.170 1.346 / 0.173 (FP2)
14. Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing 1’30.426 1.602 / 0.256 (FP2)
15. Johann ZARCO LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1’30.441 1.617 / 0.015 (FP2)
16. Jorge LORENZO Repsol Honda Team 1’30.706 1.882 / 0.265 (FP2)
17. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’30.859 2.035 / 0.153 (FP2)
18. Mika KALLIO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1’30.865 2.041 / 0.006 (FP2)
19. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’30.940 2.116 / 0.075 (FP2)
20. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1’31.404 2.580 / 0.464 (FP2)
21. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 1’31.459 2.635 / 0.055 (FP2)
20 Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT

Phillip Island Image Gallery: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS




 For more stories about Alex Rins, Click Here. For photos, Click Here.

For more stories about Joan Mir, Click Here. For photos, Click Here.

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