Suzuki Ecstar’s struggles continued in round eight of MotoGP with a double DNF in Sunday’s Mugello race.  

2020 Champion Joan Mir crashed out of the opening corner as the eighth revolution fired up having fought his way from a disastrous 19th place on the opening lap to run just shy of the points at a third’s distance. Alex Rins completing a disastrous set for Suzuki at turn 12, and just two places higher, on the same lap.

“Well, I was behind two riders, I've been a bit sucked in for the slipstream at the end of the straight,” Mir reflected on the race ending fall. "It was a classic one that you cannot stop the bike then on the last place of brakes, I lost the front.

“Is the way that I expected, honestly, because during all the weekend, I was not able to ride in a good way on the bike. Then it's difficult to make 23 laps when you don't feel comfortable. So it is what it is.

“We have to understand well what happened and why at a track that normally fit for us, for our style, for our bike, what was the opposite? So is a difficult situation for everybody. Of course we want always more and this is not the result that we expect.”

“Far, far,” he answered when questioned on his championship hopes. “I say that during all the season we didn't have the chance to show our potential this season. This is the truth. We have a new package that we have to develop a bit more to understand more. Because what is happening is not normal.”

With Mugello kicking off four MotoGP races in five weeks, the pressure is on to find solutions for the Spaniard and the GSX-RR. With his home race at Barcelona’s Catalunya circuit beckoning in just a matter of days.

“Today I'm not really optimistic,” he said of his round nine chances. “This was a track that normally we've been really fast on the past, in different categories and this is what happened. Barcelona is a track that we get podiums but I don't know at the moment what I have to expect from Barcelona, but more difficult than this one will be hard!”

Despite the early end to his race, teammate Rins was more optimistic.

”We did a really good weekend here in Mugello,” the  number 42 commented. “We are already couple of weekends riding so fast with a lot of pace on the race but in the end we are not able to finish the races for things like today.

"But anyway we will go to Montmeló to enjoy the weekend. We know that we are fast there. The level now in MotoGP is super high so let's try to be at 100 per cent to be there.”