Alex Rins: “It affects us more than the others”
Alex Rins says Yamaha still suffers more than its rivals in hot and low-grip MotoGP conditions.
After a season-best seventh in Australia, Alex Rins was left to salvage a handful of points from a hot and slippery Malaysian MotoGP weekend.
The Monster Yamaha rider qualified two places higher than at Phillip Island, in tenth, but dropped as low as 16th while managing rear tyre wear in the early laps.
His patience eventually paid off, finishing 13th at the chequered flag after several riders ahead retired.
“We have been struggling since FP1 this weekend, and it looks like when grip levels are low and temperatures are high, it affects us more than the others. So, we were expecting a really tough race,” said Rins.
“In the beginning, I could have gone faster than I did. The problem was that I was thinking about the end of the race.
“Maybe this smooth riding on the first seven laps, losing positions, allowed me to stay in P13 in the last laps. It was a tough weekend, but we need to keep going."
Rins was among a handful of riders to fit the medium front tyre instead of the soft, but he made clear that wasn’t the root of his problems.
“It's not the first time that we struggle when the grip is low and when the temperature is higher than in other tracks. So, in this case, I don't think it's the tyre,” he said.
Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller finished directly behind Rins in 14th, while team-mate Fabio Quartararo claimed a better-than-expected fifth from fourth on the grid.
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