Alex Rins finally makes Suzuki cheer again on Phillip Island and ends a long dry spell with a victory – The Spaniard thinks above all about his team
Winning once again with Suzuki: That was at the top of Alex Rins’ wish list before the Japanese manufacturer’s MotoGP team, for which he has ridden since 2017, closes its doors at the end of this season. And that’s exactly the wish the Spaniard got fulfilled at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.
From tenth on the grid, the Suzuki rider produced a strong recovery to ultimately edge out Marc Marquez (Honda) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) in one of the closest races in history to take his first win of the season.
“I am super happy to have finished first here, especially because it was the last time with Suzuki here at Phillip Island. This is a victory for all the people who have supported me up to here, even in the bad moments. The team, the staff in Hamamatsu really deserve this,” said Rins.
Suzuki exit was a strain on the team
For the 26-year-old, it is his first win since the 2020 Aragon Grand Prix, the last time Suzuki were victorious in their title season with Joan Mir at Valencia, also in 2020.
The brand has not been able to build on this for a long time. Especially this season, things have been going badly lately, which was also due to the shock news that hit the team like a blow in Portimao at the end of April: Suzuki is leaving MotoGP at the end of the current season.
“For us as a team, it was not easy to know that we would not continue in this constellation next year,” admits Rins. “We had some not so good races. I was also involved in some incidents with other riders and I broke my hand,” he recalls of the Barcelona accident.
Qualifying often thwarted better results
“Still, we never gave up. We deserve this victory. It’s for everyone in the team – those who have a contract for next year and those who don’t. “
Rins has had what it takes to win in other races. But the Spaniard knows: “Our weak point is qualifying. I’ve been in MotoGP since 2017. They were competitive years for me. But Suzuki and I, we weren’t able to set up a good bike for that one fast lap.”
“In some races we had incredible pace but were forced to settle for fifth, sixth place. In that respect, the win feels great. Of course it’s sad that Suzuki is quitting. But it’s better to do it with a win. “
Fight with Marquez and Bagnaia to the finish
“In this race I felt good from the beginning and I was able to take care of the rear tyre,” Rins explained further. “When I was riding behind Pecco, or before behind Martin, the pace was not very high. So I tried to get in front and open a small gap, but they passed me on the straight. “
ONE LAP TO GO! AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/Z72YoFdRXA
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 16, 2022
“So I decided to stay behind and save some grains for the end. I knew that if I started the last lap in second place, I had a good chance of overtaking Pecco between turns 1 and 2. That’s exactly what happened”, he summarised the final phase.
The fact that the Suzuki rider attacked especially in turn 2 was no coincidence. “Before the race I discussed with my crew chief and the engineers where the critical points for the rear tyre are on the track,” revealed the race winner.
“The right flank is not very stressed here, so I was able to attack well there and use the drive. So I managed to put a lot of overtaking manoeuvres there. “
Australia win “definitely one of the best “
At Phillip Island, Rins won for the third time. That’s because he has already been successful here in the smaller racing classes – in Moto3 in 2013 and in Moto2 in 2015. Today’s victory was his fourth in the premier class after Austin, Silverstone and Aragon. However, it is difficult for the 27-year-old to rank them.
“To win is always nice,” he says. “The first win was special because I had a really great fight with Valentino (Rossi) back in Austin. At Silverstone with Marc (Marquez) there were some good overtaking manoeuvres. I was behind him but had the better traction coming out of the last corner and overtook him.
“But this win is also nice. There were some tough battles. But we all have respect for each other. The overtaking manoeuvres were on the limit, but good and fair. So it’s hard to pick out one victory. This one is definitely one of the best. “
