MotoGP | Rins expects to fight for victories and the title with Yamaha

Established for a long time with Suzuki, with which he finished three times in the top five of the championship and won five Grands Prix, Álex Rins has seen his career in turmoil in the last two years, with the unexpected announcement of his farewell to the Japanese manufacturer's MotoGP, followed by his move to Honda and then another change which sees him move to Yamaha this year.

However, the Spanish rider denies any accusation of instability. Although his decision to leave the LCR Honda team early last summer following an injury has been compared to that of Marc Márquez, he stresses that in reality he only took advantage of an opportunity offered by Yamaha by returning to the conditions which allowed him not to apply the contractual option he had with Honda.

“They are two different cases,” he underlined in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Brand, comparing his exit from Honda's orbit to that of Márquez, who asked for the early termination of his contract with HRC. “In Marc's case, I don't know. I can't talk about it because I wasn't in his situation. In my case, I had a 1+1 contract (one year, plus another as an option, ed), but Yamaha came and made me an interesting offer to race in their official team. There was a lot of uproar about Marc, as is logical, but I repeat, in my case continuity was an option, I didn't break my contract.”

However, this is the second change in two seasons for him, with the discovery of a new bike and a different working environment. “I'm changing teams and this means working with new people, even if I bring to Yamaha a telemetry manager who I had in Suzuki. I wanted to have people close to me who I could trust to be able to continue fighting among the best. I'm having a lot of fun and I hope to fight for the championship,” he said.

Rins says he has no fear of Ducati supremacy, especially since Yamaha hasn't won since the middle of the 2020 season. “It's true that they have the ability to have eight competitive bikes on the track. They are developing a very fast bike because they have more riders on these bikes compared to the others, but Yamaha can also fight to win races and I'm sure that next year will be different”, he wants to believe.

Álex Rins, who has only spent one day on the M1 so far, insists that he feels good during this winter break, that he has “a very good feeling”. He can see the end of the tunnel after months of difficulty following the accident that occurred during testing for the Italian Grand Prix last June.

“We must not forget that the injury was not a normal fracture. The tibia was very damaged, with splinters… But finally I am improving every day, I have good sensations and I am very confident that I can progress every day with this new bike.”

Rins will meet again with Yamaha on February 1st to begin pre-season testing, thanks to concessions that will allow Yamaha to carry out a greater number of tests than European brands. “With Fabio Quartararo at my side, it will be very interesting,” he anticipates. “He is a very fast driver and we will form a very strong team. I think it is important to have a team that trusts in you and a teammate that wins.”

He also knows what the Frenchman can bring to the M1: “I think that to improve the bike it is easier to stay with Fabio because it was designed for him… We want to work together on the aerodynamics to be faster and of a high level. I'm sure that he will come out with a competitive Yamaha.”