Joan Mir’s Ecstar Suzuki crew chief Frankie Carchedi believes the flowing nature of Mugello will play into the team’s hands at this weekend’s MotoGP clash.
Because most of the corners are second and third gear and link up, Carchedi thinks the only problem Mir and Alex Rins will have is with the long straight due to their top speed deficit.
“Mugello is probably the fastest track on the calendar, which means you need good top speed, good aerodynamics, and a good gearbox,” said the ex-GSE Racing man.
“In fact, the gearbox is one of the hardest things to set-up, because a lot of the corners are only second or third gear, but you need a lot of acceleration for the long start/finish straight.
“There are fast chicanes and corners which flow into each other, that plays to our strengths. So, although some other manufacturers might have more top speed, it’s important to be strong all the way around the lap - and our strengths lie in other areas.”
Team boss Davide Brivio is equally optimistic about their chances.
“Although the track layout is very demanding in technical terms, last year we had a good race with both riders close to the podium, and this year Alex has already proven he is capable of staying at the top on varying tracks.
“Joan has had some bad luck, it was a great start in Qatar, but then many small incidents prevented him from displaying his full potential. Mugello will be important for us, trying to get back at the top and continuing our chase for the top places in the Championship.”
