On this Friday June 25, 2021, alex rins answered questions from journalists from the TT Circuit Assen, at the end of the first day of the Dutch Grand Prix, at the end of which the Suzuki rider finished 5th.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the Spanish pilot who is still suffering from the fracture of his right radius.
As usual, we report here the words of alex rins without the slightest formatting.
alex rins : “honestly, it was a good day! We were the first to switch to the soft tire to move forward because I wanted to do a lot of laps, the race distance, because I think it can be a tire for race day. On top of that, this tire gave me the little extra performance to be third in FP1 and in the top five in FP2. Concerning my arm, it was also a good day but honestly, lap after lap, the performance declined and I felt more pain than last week. But it's OK, even if I have to use it differently so as not to lose my concentration and everything else. But yes, I felt it a little more than last weekend. »
Could rain make your run easier?
“If it rains on race day, I prefer it because it’s less demanding. I was able to do seven or eight laps in the wet and the arm was still working well. »
Does using a front tire you already know make your job easier?
“Honestly, with this new asphalt, all the tires work well. Speaking more from the rear than the front, for example, Oliveira and Fabio did their fast lap with the hardest rubber, and Maverick did it with the medium which had a lot of laps. I think it will be a bit difficult to choose the right tire. Up front, the medium and soft work pretty well, but for the rear it's harder to see which one works best. »
Wear and tear is not a problem?
“Today, with the little grip on Friday, there is no problem: we will see how it goes tomorrow (laughs)! »
Joan Mir just said the bike was moving a lot, especially in sectors two and four. Is this the same for you?
“More or less, more or less. For sure, the bike moves, but I think in my case it's because of my arm because I don't have all my power, all my strength to hold the bike. But yes, we have to work more. »
Do you expect to progress in FP3?
“What do I expect from FP3? It will be hard! It will be tough because I think more or less everyone doesn't have the best settings yet since we haven't had enough time. So everything will be very tight. It seems that Maverick is going very fast but for the rest of the drivers it will be tough. I can't say which boys will go straight to Q2. »
FP1/FP2 ranking of Grand Prix MotoGP from the Netherlands to TT Assen:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
