After having closed the pre-season in a positive way and having shone in the Friday of free practice of the Grand Prix of Qatar, Alex Rins has moved back the classification, Suzuki’s Achilles heel, losing many options to fight for the victory under the lights of Lusail . The Catalan started from tenth place on the grid and crossed the line in seventh position, almost nine seconds behind the surprising winner, Enea Bastianini.
“I would not say that Enea’s victory surprised me, because he proved already last year that he is a very strong rider in the race and even if the Ducatis are not in their best moment this year, the Desmosedici continues to be a top bike, ”said Rins at an event with one of his sponsors that was held in Barcelona on Monday.
The Suzuki rider was with his fans in a shopping center a few hours before traveling to Indonesia, where this weekend the second race of the season is held, which after the inaugural race in Qatar looks more open and uncertain than ever: ” This year it is impossible to predict, there is a great balance and in Q2 we were ten drivers in half a second. If you add a few surprises to that, like Binder, I don’t see a clear favorite. I wouldn’t bet my money on any rider this year”.
Like everyone else, Rins was surprised by the first podium of the season, with Bastianini, Binder and a Pol Espargaro who finished third after leading for 17 laps. Before explaining what he will try to do to be in the fight, he explained: “This year we will see a lot of colors on the podium. The key is to be able to qualify well on Saturday and be cool in the race, like Sunday in Qatar. I’m not a conservative rider, but this year I promised myself to be more consistent and collect more points in all races ”.
Although a lot was expected of the Suzuki duo after the big step forward in terms of top speed of the GSX-RR, Joan Mir eventually grabbed a sixth position, right in front of Rins: “The bike has improved a lot and has given the ability to overtake on the straight, which we did not have before. Too bad we had problems with the front tire in the race, something we have suffered from in the past. I didn’t expect it, but I trust my team a lot and we will solve it ”.
While Aleix Espargaro managed to finish fourth in Lusail with Aprilia, Rins did not hide a certain disappointment for the result of his friend Maverick Vinales. “I wouldn’t say disappointing, but it’s a shame to see Maverick so far behind. He is a very talented rider and I hope he will soon be able to find the feeling with the new Aprilia, ”he said referring to Vinales’ 12th place, who crossed the line more than 23 seconds behind the winner.
In view of the weekend in Indonesia, Rins recalled that the tests carried out on the new Mandalika track went quite well: “The goal is the same as in all the races, we want to be in front and do a good Q2 to get to Sunday in conditions of being able to win”.
On the problems that the riders experienced on the Lombok Island track, Rins is confident that they have been solved: “I’m sure they will have solved the problems we encountered in the tests”. In practice, 60% of the circuit surface was resurfaced.
Finally, Rins assured that he was very happy with the new Suzuki manager, Livio Suppo: “There is a good feeling and we have similar ways of seeing the races. He was a figure we needed”.
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