The Japanese Grand Prix proved to be another disappointment for Alex Rins and the Yamaha team. Grip issues once again hampered the Spaniard's performance, as he finished well outside the points. The struggles of Rins and Quartararo are indicative of the fundamental problems with the M1. Yamaha's future in MotoGP will depend on whether they can find solutions quickly and become a major player in the championship again.
alex rins finished out of the points in the Japanese Grand Prix, in 16th position, more than 40 seconds of the winner Francis Bagnaia. Despite signs of improvement for Yamaha in Misano, where his teammate fabio quartararo had briefly been in contention for the top five, Motegi exposed the M1's lingering weaknesses.
« This race was really tough. I am devastated, " confessed Kidneys. " I did all the laps with a heart rate of 190, I gave it my all, but it was so hard. » After an encouraging first part of the race, the performances of his Yamaha have declined. We chose the Austrian settings to improve braking and contact with the rear. And it was a little better at the beginning, but as soon as the tire started to fail, controlling the slip became almost impossible,” the pilot explained.
Alex Rins: “ I was in a spin with the bike upright »
Kidneys described the challenges he faced on the track: “ even on the straight, coming out of turns 9 and 10, I was spinning with the bike upright. The tire was flat in the center, and It made the situation uncontrollable. » His frustration is palpable when he declares: “ I am not satisfied with our work. We have to find solutions, because this is not the right way."
After the recent results of MisanoWhere Quarterly had shown potential as he fought for fifth place before running out of fuel, Kidneys points out that Motegi has highlighted the " Hard reality » of the current situation of Yamaha . " Misano, for Fabio, was a bit like Austin for me, " did he declare. “ He was fast there, but the result was not really realistic"
Rins also observed that drivers from competing brands, such as Nakagami, were faster than the Yamaha in the last laps: " When Marini passed me, I couldn't keep up. That's the reality. The harsh reality.. » With 20 points in the ranking of championnat, on a par with Joan Mir, Rins hopes that Yamaha will be able to meet the challenges encountered this season to return to a competitive level of performance.
MotoGP, Japan J3: ranking
