Iannone continues impressive form in Australia

Andrea Iannone continued his impressive start to life on the Suzuki, ending the first day of the second pre-season test third fastest.

After impressive performances in Valencia and Sepang, Phillip Island was always likely to provide another challenge for Iannone and the Italian rose to the occasion, as he adjusts to life on the GSX-RR. The Maniac was working further with new upgrades that were initially brought to Sepang in Australia, as well as continuing to work with the aim of finding a base setting.

Despite facing electronic issues with his Suzuki, Iannone ended the day with a succession of quick laps, the best of which was a 1:29.926 which was good enough for third position, 0.429 seconds off the fastest lap time set by Marc Marquez. 

“This morning was very difficult for us. The team couldn’t find the proper setting to feel confident. I struggled a lot,” explained the Italian.

“But then in the afternoon, we changed some settings and improved step by step. At the final stage I was happy because the machine improved, as well as the feeling of the bike and the pace. This is a very positive outcome, because it means we have the capability to overcome very hard situations and turn them into a positive.”

Happy with the pace he ended the day with, Iannone said the plan for tomorrow is to start the day off on the right foot, by looking for more improvement with his new team and crew-chief from the very start of the day.

“As of tomorrow, we have the chance to work on pace as well as single lap performance, and also introduce some more improvements. We are on a good path. My crew chief is as new as I am with the GSX-RR and it’s very important for us to learn and get to know it at its best.”

Photo via Suzuki-Racing