Most of the teams present at the private two-day test in Austria were there to learn the track and work on their settings for race weekend, but Suzuki had also brought new parts to test. The biggest of these was a different swing arm for Alexi Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to help improve traction. Espargaro ended the test in ninth on the unofficial times, just over a second off Andrea Iannone’s (Ducati Team) best lap. While the single lap times may not be there yet, Espargaro and Suzuki are more confident in their race pace.
Aleix Espargaro: “Today we worked really hard, especially in the afternoon where we tried different solutions with the electronics and also a different swingarm, to try to find more traction. This circuit is very nice but the full power will play a major role; for this I expect we will be struggling a lot. For sure races are done by the pace also, and on this we worked hard and had positive responses. This summer break will be useful, we will take a rest from the race weekend rhythm, but this will also allow us to look at our issues with clear mind. The second part of the season will be very tough as we will have many back-to-back races, therefore we will come here again for the race with full determination and enthusiasm.”