Factory Ecstar Suzuki MotoGP rider Alex Rins admitted he was surprised by the pace of his GSX-RR with the harder Michelin tyres on the opening day of action at the Sachsenring in Germany.

The Spaniard ended the combined free practice times second fastest, just over three-tenths behind Marc Marquez. A strength of the Suzuki has been how kind it has been on tyres, meaning Rins has been able to run softer tyres than most.

Despite running softer tyres than most, the Suzuki man admitted he was surprised to find out the best tyre combination on Friday included the hard Michelin tyre.

“I’m happy with my performance today, the bike felt really good from FP1 onwards,” said the 23-year-old.

“When I tried the different tyre configurations I found the best feeling with the hard one, and that surprised me a bit.

“In FP2, I kept a strong rhythm and stayed near the top. I’ll give my all tomorrow to get a good grid spot, ideally on the front row.”