Alex Rins flew to Japan to take the helm of a MotoGP. The LCR driver explained to us how his convalescence is going and analyzed the situation of the Japanese brands in the world championship.
About Manuel Pecino / Motosan.es
Alex Rins is back in MotoGP after eight Grands Prix absence. We spoke to the LCR Honda rider before he tests his bike again at the Japanese GP. The Spaniard arrived at the Japanese circuit as the Honda rider with the highest number of points in the overall championship standings, despite four months of absence.
We missed you, and I imagine you missed not being able to ride your motorcycle too…
" A lot. It's been a few months, not complicated, because I don't want to use the word 'complicated', but long, very long. It's not an injury like I expected. I was expecting a more typical injury: breaking your shin and, after a month, being on the bike and opening the throttle. But in the end we had a double fracture of the tibia and fibula, with numerous bone chips. I didn't understand this until Montmeló, or I didn't want to understand it until then. But today, it seems we are taking important steps in our recovery. One of them is to get on a MotoGP and see how it feels. »
Mentally, how did you cope with the situation?
“It was difficult. When I couldn't move, when I was in a wheelchair, it was difficult. I couldn't do anything, I just lay on the couch all day. The physiotherapist came to the house, I rarely went out. But it's also difficult now, because you see that you are recovering, that you can stand more, walk more. But you can't really do what you want. And the truth is that it takes a long time, a lot of time.”
How does it feel to watch the races from the couch?
“Of course, in races outside Europe I, as an injured driver, lacked information. But it's very different. I was trying to analyze [what was happening], but from outside a circuit, it's very difficult to analyze. It's more about what you think might happen. »
Is coming to Japan also to see your future bosses [at Yamaha]?
" No not at all. Coming to Japan is because it is Japan. If it had been a circuit in Europe, we would have gone there to test. Because ultimately, riding a MotoGP can only be done during a Grand Prix or when there is a scheduled test. It's like that. »
When you see that you are still the Honda rider with the most points, what do you think?
“It makes me angry. Because we were doing a really good job. We managed to win in Austin, and in the following races we had crashes; but the sensations and the test results were very good. Learning to ride a motorcycle was very quick. That's why I'm angry. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't been hurt? »
Honda and Yamaha are at the back of the pack…
“It’s expensive this year, both for Honda and Yamaha. But it's difficult to understand. I focus a little more on Marc [Márquez] than on Joan [Mir] in this case: until Mugello, Marc was not ready to win, but he was not doing badly. It's true that he is coming back from injury, but at Le Mans, until the last lap, he was fighting for the podium. At Mugello he wasn't ready for the podium, but he was there. It’s very difficult to explain.”
Read the original article on Motosan.es
Manuel Pecino
To be continued…
