“I was risking my life” - Alex Rins on Yamaha problem at Brno MotoGP
Alex Rins said a recurring electronics problem made his Yamaha unpredictable and dangerous during the Brno MotoGP.
Alex Rins said he was 'risking his life' due to unpredictable electronics on his Yamaha before retiring from Sunday's Brno MotoGP.
Rins gained a place to 16th when factory team-mate Fabio Quartararo crashed on the opening lap but was later passed by Pramac riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jack Miller.
The Spaniard, who had also experienced the anti-wheelie issues on Friday, spent much of the grand prix ahead of only LCR replacement Cal Crutchlow before pitting with four laps remaining.
“We had a problem on Friday with the electronics, and today in the race it appeared again,” Rins said.
“I was risking my life, feeling this problem on the bike.
"So I decided to enter the box, because we are going at 350k per hour, it's not a joke, and you need to have everything under control, everything perfect.
“If not, it's really risky.”
Rins explained: “I was feeling it exiting from especially corner 4 and corner 12, going up the hill.
"I was opening the throttle, the RPMs were going up, and at some point, the anti-wheelie was cutting, and then back again… Unpredictable.”
The former Suzuki and Honda race winner, who finished 14th in the Saturday Sprint race, admitted that efforts at the back of the field often go unnoticed.
“When I'm watching the race at home, even I cannot see myself on TV!
“It's a shame because we gave everything, everything.
"Even if we don't fight for the points, we are... feeling contractions in all the muscles, holding the breath for almost half a lap.
“So when this kind of problem happens, it's really frustrating.”
Rins won't get to see the benefit of this season's troubleshooting work on the new V4 since he is out of a Yamaha ride for 2027.
“But in the end, I cannot complain about this. I'm an employee. I get money for this. So, I need to be ready. I need to be prepared. I need to train to 100%," he said.
“Even when the people don't support [me], I need to be ready. It's like now. I came in the box. I explained my problems. Everybody was in silence.”
Monster Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli said: "Alex did his best in tough conditions and kept pushing until he felt a strange malfunction and then opted to return to the garage."
Razgatlioglu finished as Yamaha's leading rider in 14th place, with Miller in 16th.
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