Ecstar Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone has compared his riding style to that of predecessor Maverick Vinales and says that it is only corner entry where they differ and that his laptimes are actually faster than the Spaniard.

Iannone has struggled with the front of the GSX-RR where Vinales did not but he says he is working hard to try and fix the issues.

“I believe in this factory, this brand and to change is a big motivation for me. It’s a big challenge and especially now it’s a very difficult part of the championship because we expect a very different situation,” said Iannone.

“We haven’t improved in some areas but now step by step with good focus. I look at the data from last year and I don’t very different from Maverick, only the last part corner entry. He arrives with a more straight position.

“I have tried to adjust as Maverick did not struggle with the front and I struggle a lot. More or less in all the races, I arrive faster than him in laptime but the result is completely different because even with better laptimes, I stay in tenth position - him, second or first. For sure always I try my 100 per cent but not everything depend on me.”