“People forget about you” without a top MotoGP machine
Alex Rins says he was “surprised” Yamaha decided his MotoGP future after just three races on the new V4.
Alex Rins was “surprised” that Yamaha decided his MotoGP future after just three rounds with its new V4 machine.
A race winner for Suzuki and then LCR Honda, where Rins suffered serious leg injuries a few rounds after his COTA victory, the Spaniard returned to factory status with Yamaha for 2024.
Like Honda, Yamaha was very much in a rebuilding stage, having fallen well behind the European manufacturers.
Yamaha took the most radical action, developing a new V4-powered machine to replace its Inline bike for this season. However, it is yet to pay off.
Rins, who managed a best of seventh on the Inline M1, scored points in two of the opening three rounds on the new V4, matching the bike’s best GP result of 14th.
But upon arriving at the Spanish Grand Prix, Rins confirmed that he had lost his Yamaha seat, with Ai Ogura set to join Jorge Martin in an all-new 2027 line-up.
"My motivation hasn’t changed," Rins told GPOne.com. "Even though it’s not an easy time, ever since I found out I wouldn’t be continuing with Yamaha.
“It’s tough - when I signed the contract, I was still with LCR Honda, and I felt good. They came to me and gave me this opportunity: I saw there was potential.
“With the Inline4, we struggled to push the bike, and I had trouble braking. Then when we switched to the V4, the feeling was good, so I was surprised because within three races they had already decided my future.
“My commitment to them was total. That’s life, but I’ll continue to give it my all.”
Rins, who gave Suzuki a dream farewell by winning the 2022 Valencia finale, also pointed to how quickly perceptions change in MotoGP if you're not on a competitive machine.
"Last year, if you didn’t have a Ducati, you didn’t stand a chance, and now Aprilia is doing very well. Ducati seems to be facing a few more difficulties but is still competitive,” he said.
“It seems, however, that if you don’t have that bike, people forget about you. We can’t work magic; we have the bike we have.
“It’s been three difficult years for me, but I’m still the same Alex from the past, the one who won races and claimed podiums."
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
