The MotoGP™ World Championship riders were excited to race in Indonesia for the first time in 25 years, and for the first time ever on the island of Lombok. However, the tropical climate around the Pertamina Mandalika circuit proved the biggest challenge of the day, with incredibly heavy rain and violent thunderstorms delaying the start by an hour and 15 minutes. However, Suzuki’s riders came out of the intense race with decent finishes and some promising findings for future races.

Despite the nerve-wracking wait and less than optimal conditions, Alex Rins and Joan Mir got off to strong starts for the shortened 20-lap race. Rins was in podium contention and Mir was picking up places rapidly, gaining nine spots compared to his grid position. With 17 laps to go, Rins moved up into third place and, despite a gap to the top two riders, he looked confident and quick. Meanwhile, Mir was into a promising sixth.

The conditions remained treacherous and avoiding mistakes was key. As the race continued, Rins began to lose places. While in fifth he made the sensible decision to settle for a good finish rather than risk crashing. It was a similar situation for Mir, who was in sixth place with big gaps either side of him as the race drew to a close.

Alex Rins:

“Luckily we were able to start the race; I was very worried about the conditions and didn’t know if it could go ahead. It was a tough race, I made a good start and tried everything to get on the podium, but after some big moments on the front end I tried to calm down and be smoother. When Zarco and Quartararo passed me, I saw that they had better pace than me, and I realised that I couldn’t do more without big risk. So, I took fifth place, which isn’t bad for such a difficult race and a hard weekend where I’ve struggled with my physical condition. I’m happy to get points and I want to continue with consistency.”

Joan Mir:

“I’m really happy about my comeback; I started from the back of the grid and finished close to the top group. In the end I was able to get a better feeling with the bike which allowed me to be faster. We’ve worked hard all weekend and we’ve discovered some things, although we were mostly planning for dry settings! In today’s race I was struggling a bit to get the bike stopped, but I was able to start well and hold a decent position. It’s a pity for me that it was shortened to 20 laps, because I started to feel better as the race went on. Anyway, we collected some points and it is early days. We head to Argentina next and let’s see how we can perform there, we hope to build on our package.”

Livio Suppo – Team Manager:

“Considering the tricky weekend, the race wasn’t bad. Both riders showed good pace despite the incredibly difficult conditions. The key thing was to finish the race and bring home points, and that’s exactly what Alex and Joan did. It was our first time here, and we’re glad that the race was able to go ahead in front of all the crowd. We’re still at the beginning of the season, and I consider that we can be happy and move forward with positivity.”