This post-race press conference for the Catalan Grand Prix brought together Marc Marquez, Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales.
As usual, we report here our translation of the entirety of the words of alex rins, without journalistic formatting or distortion.
Alex, this is your best result in MotoGP in a race that will remain a classic…
alex rins : “yes, it was incredible for me! I think it was the hardest MotoGP race of my life. I did my best. Since yesterday we knew that the race would be very difficult because there would be a lot of drivers in the leading group. But we managed it very well. I tried to attack in the middle of the race, and I was 4th or 5th with 10 laps to go but the leading group was slipping away a little. I tried to keep my pace to try to catch up with them because I knew I was in a position to finish on the podium. But in the end, I did a lot of overtaking and I really enjoyed this race.”
There were a few hot passages with Marc Márquez at turn 5…
“It was incredible, because 2 or 3 laps before, I had overtaken Marc. I saw him very strong in this corner, and as I felt good there, I said to myself “why not?” ". So I released the brakes and overtook him, but he passed me again on the next lap. There, I said to myself “wow! The race is going to be fantastic.” Towards the end of the race I had a few overtakes with Maverick and other drivers, and I really enjoyed it.”
You had a hard rear tire, and yet it performed well until the end of the race. How do you explain that ?
“In my case, I felt much better with the hard tire. Yesterday, during qualifying, I tried to push hard during the first laps to see if he warmed up quickly. It's quite strange that there are as many drivers using the soft tire as the hard one. But I felt a little easier to control the grip and skating with the hard. So we chose the hard tire.”
The race was fantastic to watch. Why was everything so tight? Is it because of the track, the tires, the wind?
“I think it's due to the type of track, with a lot of fast corners. There was also the wind which was a little more present than in the other races. It was a problem for the drivers to be able to escape in the lead. But like this, it was funnier.”
Have you seen the contact between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo?
“Regarding the contact with Lorenzo, frankly I don’t know because I already had a lot of work to maintain my position and my rhythm.”
Can you explain what you found about your bike and yourself to be able to take this step towards the very first?
“From Qatar, we are going very quickly. And on most circuits, I am not able to ride in first position but in the leading group. But I made a few small mistakes and I crashed. Now I'm trying to stay calmer, especially on this track where we have a new engine with a little more top speed. This helps us a little on the straights. And that's all ! I think the upcoming races will be very good for us, and I will try to give my best. We know we struggle a bit on Friday but I will try to be in the lead group in as many races as I can.”
Dutch Grand Prix Assen MotoGP Race: Standings
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 41'13.863 |
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | +2.269 |
| 3 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +2.308 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +2.422 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +2.963 |
| 6 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +3.876 |
| 7 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +4.462 |
| 8 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +7.001 |
| 9 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +7.541 |
| 10 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +13.056 |
| 11 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +14.255 |
| 12 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +15.876 |
| 13 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | +15.986 |
| 14 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | +16.019 |
| 15 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +16.043 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +16.416 |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +29.073 |
| 18 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | +33.824 |
| 19 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +34.037 |
| 20 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | +47.853 |
| Unclassified | ||||
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 9 Tours | |
| 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 9 Tours | |
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 15 Tours |
