On the evening of Sprint of the Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Alex Rins almost made us believe that he was driving a Suzuki, so much so that he handled his Honda RC213V like his GSX-RR on a Texan track that he particularly likes!
Always smiling and calm, he shared his point of view during the press conference which also brought together Francis Bagnaia, Jorge Martín et Marco Bezzecchi.
As usual, we report his words here without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Álex, we know you like this circuit, but the Honda is a very difficult bike to ride. You're still adapting to a new team, a new bike, but you also had a fantastic Saturday: Second on the grid, second in the race. It sounds like you got the most out of yourself and the bike. In this race. There were big battles throughout the race. You must be very happy, for yourself and for the team and for the team…
Alex Rins : " Oui, c’est sûr, c’est sûr ! Nous avons fait une très très bonne journée aujourd’hui, avec les qualifications et le Sprint. J’ai donné le maximum, j’ai essayé de doubler Pecco dès que possible parce que je savais qu’il avait un bon rythme et j’ai essayé de rouler seul mais il m’a doublé et ensuite je suis allé tout droit dans le virage 12, avec les températures chaudes c’était difficile de ne pas avoir de blocages de l’avant et d’arrêter la moto. Mais quoi qu’il en soit, c’est ce que nous avons fait pendant la course. Nous verrons bien demain. Cette moto n’est pas la même que celle que je pilotais l’année dernière et ce que je peux dire, c’est que, dans les chicanes, elle est plus exigeante. Je dois avoir plus de force corporelle pour être rapide. Mais, mais vous savez, on verra bien demain.”
Pecco showed an incredible level today. You really pushed him to the limit in the first few laps. What do you think of tomorrow's long race? Do you feel like you have the potential to fight for victory?
« We have a good bike, and we gathered a lot of information today. Honestly, we didn't expect these high temperatures and we had never ridden with these temperatures before. So, for us or for me, on the electronic side it did not work 100%. No. So we'll see if it's as hot tomorrow. We have information. As Pecco said, today's race was fast and so we will have to take more care of the tires to arrive with better performance at the end of the Grand Prix. »
In this Sprint race we didn't see a lot of crazy action, so was it due to this particular race or the track, or do you think by now everyone has gotten used to this format?
« As far as I'm concerned, I think that, more than us being calm, it's the type of track, because there are quite a few hot spots for overtaking, but not that many, like for example in Portimão. Also, the hot conditions in today's race, where the temperature was very high, meant that when braking behind certain drivers, I felt lockups and all that. No, it was definitely more difficult than usual. »
Alex, how was your engine today, compared to the Ducati?
« I was lucky to have Aleix behind, and not the Ducati. More than engine power, I think it's about traction, traction or aerodynamics. Coming out of slow corners I'm trying to find traction, but the front wheel is in the air, so we need to improve that to have more power on the bike, because when the front wheel is in the air, the anti-wheeling cuts. So I think we need to improve in this area to be closer to them. »
MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas Sprint Results at Circuit of the Americas in Austin:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
