MotoGP Barcelona J3 Alex Rins (Suzuki/3): “it was hard for me to get back to the top”

Alex Rins recognizes him, he has come a long way. His 2019 season, with two victories, really belongs to the next world, given this campaign which began with a nasty injury. The Suzuki official gradually recovered, but at the same time, his teammate Joan Mir put him on the ropes by revealing himself in a new dimension. This podium puts him back on track and he can therefore look forward to the future with greater serenity…

qualified 13^rd, alex rins made a nice comeback to third place. He certainly sees his teammate Joan mir finish in front of him again and assert himself as a candidate for the title this year, but the Spaniard prefers to hold back his return to the forefront. It actually took him 13 months to get back on the podium. At Barcelona Grand Prix, he also secured the first double podium Suzuki to his Japanese employers since 2007, when Chris Vermeulen et John Hopkins finished in the top three.

At the finish of the Barcelona Grand Prix, alex rins expresses his dominant feelings thus: “ honestly, I'm happy and happy that I was able to get back on the podium after so long “, declared the Spaniard. “ It's written on my face with relief because we had a lot of problems in the last races. The fall and shoulder injury in Jerez in mid-July made me lose time. It was hard for me to get back to the top, also for my head ».

He specifies : " physically, I am actually 100%, in any case the bones no longer hurt. But in the race, my tongue is stuck out after four or five laps and I get out of breath when I push the limit. And after 24 laps, I was exhausted today. It's hard to understand why I'm out of breath so quickly. These are perhaps the consequences of this long injury... »

“We worked tirelessly to get back to 100%”

« We worked tirelessly to get back to 100% and get closer to the podium », sighed Kidneys who finished just 1,8 seconds behind the winner. “ I have to thank my Suzuki team and my personal contacts, because they have always been by my side. I am also happy for the fans because they are having an unpleasant season due to Covid-19 ».

Kidneys had already shown good race pace during FP3 and FP4. But did he expect a real chance of a podium from 13th place on the grid? “ My plan was to start well and make up positions in the first few laps. I succeeded. I then had difficulty overtaking Pol Espargaró because I had lost time. But then I focused entirely on my riding style and treated the tires as carefully as possible ».

« We ended up all slowing down by 1-2 seconds. But we came in 3rd place, which makes me very happy. It looks like we are having problems with new tires on just one lap in qualifying. But we can maintain the pace for the entire race distance. So we still need to find a better compromises " finished Kidneys who, in his lap of honor paid a very special tribute…

MotoGP Barcelona J3: classification