Alex Rins says all requests he made to Suzuki regarding development of the GSX-RR during the MotoGP pre-season were “produced”.
Rins enjoyed a strong winter aboard the GSX-RR, topping Sunday's session in Qatar and ending the final test third overall, 0.385 seconds off the pace of Yamaha's Maverick Vinales.
The multiple MotoGP podium finisher said at the conclusion of Monday's running is feeling on the new Suzuki was “incredible”, and praised the Hamamatsu marque's efforts over the winter.
“Our feeling was incredible, I'm very happy,” Rins enthused.
“As you can see in the timesheets, we are P11 on Monday, P3 in general. When we pushed for a laptime on the final day we suffer a small crash on the second corner., but anyway we are on the good way.
“All the requests I asked of Suzuki this winter, they produced, and it's very positive because it's not easy to develop the bike when you have a good base. I feel quite happy.”
Asked where the GSX-RR has improved specifically over the course of testing, he added: “We improve a little bit the braking stability, a little bit on the top speed, a little bit on the electronic area.”
Rookie team-mate Joan Mir was 12th on the combined times having led the final Qatar test session at one stage, and believes he has the “potential” to run close to the leaders in his MotoGP debut next weekend.
“I’m really happy about the pace we have, and also about my feeling with the bike,” said Mir.
“We’ve made another step forward, which is really important for the race. We feel well prepared for the start of the season, although I couldn’t quite get the lap time I wanted due to a small mistake on my flying lap.
“But I feel I have potential and I’m close to the pace of the top guys, just a couple of tenths per lap down on them.
“There’s always more work to do, but overall I feel positive about what we’ve achieved in these days.”
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