Marco Bezzecchi
Alex Rins had a difficult first season with Yamaha after switching from LCR Honda as he spent much of the MotoGP campaign on the fringes of the top 10 at best.
The Spaniard had some success earlier in his career with Suzuki after graduating to MotoGP with the Japanese brand in 2017. Rins was a frequent podium contender from his second season and took five Grand Prix wins before Suzuki pulled out at the end of 2022.
Suzuki’s withdrawal from MotoGP saw Rins secure a move to LCR for the 2023 season but he struggled to adapt to the Honda bike.
A number of injuries also held the 29-year-old to contesting just seven of the 20 rounds, before switching to the Yamaha MotoGP team in 2024.
Rins replaced Franco Morbidelli at Yamaha to partner with Fabio Quartararo, who is chasing his second championship in the premier class after triumphing in 2021.
Quartararo is vastly more experienced with the Yamaha YZR-M1 bike than Rins, which showed in 2024 as the Frenchman was more comfortable throughout the season and scored a best finish of sixth place in Malaysia.
Rins believes that there was also one key difference between the two riders this season and that the Spaniard cannot do one thing in order to match Quartararo on the same Yamaha machinery.
Alex Rins admits he ‘cannot use the same set-up’ as Yamaha teammate Fabio Quartararo
Rins had some difficult rounds this season, such as a couple of retirements at the Circuit of the Americas, and the Dutch TT at Assen which halted his momentum after fracturing his wrist in the Netherlands.
It can be more difficult to adapt to a new bike, which Rins had to do after switching from Honda machinery in 2024. But he had some strong results, such as an eighth-place finish in Malaysia in the penultimate round of the year.
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Rins has also explained that Quartararo is more suited to the bike as he has been riding Yamaha machinery since his MotoGP debut in 2019, so he can’t copy the Frenchman’s set-up. Quartararo debuted with satellite team Petronas SRT before moving to Yamaha in 2021.
He said, via Crash: “The real difference between him and me is the bike. We are two talented riders. He’s [been] in Yamaha since 2019, so this bike is for him.
“I need to do my own bike right now. This year it was a little bit hard to do this because as Yamaha knows I was coming from another team and it takes more time.
“But I’m happy because I gave my point of view and they were listening to me. It’s clear that we cannot use the same set-up. When I try to use his set-up I’m not fast. We have two different riding styles. So, it just takes time for me and my team to understand.”
Rins has been very successful over his career and finished third in MotoGP in 2020 which shows he has the potential to return to the front.
Alex Rins will be hoping for less misfortune in the 2025 MotoGP season
Rins lacked competitive results throughout much of the 2024 season as he adjusted to the new Yamaha bike after switching teams.
Rins failed to challenge at the front of the grid but did go into the season recovering from a broken leg which may have hindered his performance.
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There were more issues later on in the year after a fractured wrist ruled the Spaniard out of two events in Germany and Britain.
A more consistent and injury-free season in 2025 may provide Rins with the platform he needs to match Quartararo as he should be able to maintain a greater rhythm with the Yamaha bike without having to miss races.
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