Ecstar Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone finally found some answers to his front-end feel problems at the Qatar MotoGP test and now believes he has a direction in which to go with the GSX-RR.

The Italian struggled with confidence at the desert track and said it felt like he was losing front grip to the point of crashing at every turn but some radical thinking has given him a solution.

“Always we struggle a lot with the front, from the first day from the first exit, I lose the front but I think with the last two exits, we improve a lot the situation. We try extreme setting and the situation improve,” said Iannone.

“I was a little bit worry because I lose the front in every corner, and I crash without push. Everything is impossible for me. The last exit was not bad and for this that I believe over the race weekend we improve a little bit more.”

“At the end, in the last three laps we have improved a lot, riding at 1´55 and we have had a bolt of lightning that has helped us understand where we have to go. Having a pace of 1´55 is something we had not been able to achieve throughout the test so far, so at least I’m a little happier. We still have a bit of chattering, especially on Turn 6, where I can’t get in and slow down like I’d like, but we’ve improved and that’s what’s important."

Iannone also admitted he was trying to get his style closer to that of Maverick Vinales, who vacated the bike at the end of 2016.

"I'm trying to adapt quickly to the bike, but to go fast requires a riding style identical to that of Vinales. I’m trying to imitate him, but it's not in my nature. He never brakes for a corner while leant over, but with the bike straight, and he waits prior to turning and then accelerates.

"Most riders, on the other hand, they use the brake to bring the bike into the corner, and then accelerate. Right now I am trying to adapt a bit to try to compensate for what is lacking."