In 2011, the three riders of Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol finished in the first three places in the CEV in the 125 category. To say that this category ensured good promotion would be an understatement when we know that the leading trio was made up of Álex Rins, Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia. With Jack Miller tenth, we now find them all in MotoGP on factory Suzuki, Honda and Ducati.
Rins continued his momentum and finished second in the Moto3 World Championship in 2013, behind Maverick Vinales. Third in 2014 (behind álex Márquez et Jack Miller), he moved to Moto2 and finished second in 2015 (behind Johann zarco) and third in 2016 (behind Johann and Tom Lüthi).
The great MotoGP adventure began for him in 2017 with Suzuki, rewarded with a first victory in Austin and another at Silverstone in 2019. In three seasons, Alex reached the podium eight times. He qualified twice on the front row, second at Valencia in 2018 and third at Assen last year.
“I want to continue like this because I believe a lot in myself and in this team. The work the team does is awesome. They trusted me during the evolution of the bike, and since then we have worked very hard together. In Japan, the factory does a great job always bringing new updates. We did a good job in 2019, but now we have to look at where 2020 is going” Álex explained to Eric Johnson of racer.com.
Rins would be offered a seventh title at Suzuki in 500 / MotoGP, after those of Barry Sheene (1976 and 1977), Marco Lucchinelli (1981), Franco Uncini (1982), Kevin schwantz (1993) and Kenny Roberts Jr (2000).
“Winning a championship together for Suzuki is our goal “, declared Davide Brivio, the team manager, from his confinement base. “Being champion is something very difficult. We are aware of this. There are very strong competitors, strong drivers, strong teams, but we are here to try to win. In the coming years, our approach is to fight for the world title. And there's no doubt that Alex Rins can do it. We are here for that. Suzuki and I believe we can do it and we are working hard and doing our best to get the title. »
Rins is currently training in the Pyrenees, where he is not alone. “I have seen a lot of pilots here in Andorra. Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales and the Espargaró brothers. There are many people around. For example, today I went riding with Tito Rabat. It was nice to see your rivals again on the track, and also off the track! It was good. »
“When you're a driver, your whole life is a race,” Rins said. “I mean, the motorbike, the PlayStation, going to the workshop… With my friends and my colleagues, we always race. That's not a bad thing. Yes, I've raced on Esports and PlayStation with MotoGP and I prefer the real one! I like doing that. I also did some car racing with Gran Turismo. These are the kinds of things we have enjoyed at home during this time. »
“We are coming out of 2019 which was a very good season. This year I'm hoping to go faster than last year, and it looks like we'll be racing again at the end of July. This is very good news for us, because after a season that was quite good in 2019, I am very excited to start racing again to feel the adrenaline and to race and try to win. »
“For sure, we win races together and we are all very close, and as you know, I have just signed two more years with Suzuki” Rins explained. “We are all together and we have the same mentality, which is to win. Of course I believe in them and they believe in me. »
“I am also now very excited to return to competition to show the world that I am more ready than ever to fight again. It's not easy to win a race in MotoGP, and I had two victories last year and it was a pleasure for me. When you come in and do something like that, you want to keep it, and for sure I want to keep getting on the podium and winning races. »
“And this year we want to focus on one thing: to be more consistent and finish all the races on the podium and try to see where we are in Valencia. We improved the bike a bit and made it more consistent, and it's more powerful on the straights. »
“The 2019 season was very good and we are ready. Suzuki has done a very good job, they believe in me and they want to start racing now. And me too. »
Photos © Suzuki, and Álex Rins personally
