Neil Hodgson feels one rider is near ‘the end’ of his MotoGP career after what he saw at the Spanish Grand Prix, ‘so sad’

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Neil Hodgson regretfully thinks one MotoGP rider is now ‘coming to the end’ of their premier class career after a sorry sight during qualifying for the Grand Prix of Spain.

Ducati rider Marc Marquez looked set to continue his dominant streak this Saturday to score his fifth pole position of the 2025 MotoGP season. But Yamaha star Fabio Quartararo sprung a huge surprise to deny the 32-year-old pole position late in the session by 0.033 seconds.

KTM Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales had set the best time during Q1 to advance into the fight for pole with Aprilia pilot Marco Bezzecchi. But the first part of qualifying even left Hodgson with the feeling that MotoGP could soon be saying goodbye to a six-time Grand Prix winner.

Neil Hodgson thinks Alex Rins is near ‘the end’ of the Yamaha rider’s career after his injury at the Spanish Grand Prix

The rider Hodgson regretfully feels is approaching the end of their time on the MotoGP grid is Alex Rins after the Yamaha ace suffered yet another injury at the Spanish GP. The 29-year-old has endured a tough last few years since breaking his leg at the 2023 Grand Prix of Italy.

Rins visited the medical centre for precautionary checks just as Q1 started following a crash, which Hodgson described as ‘ridiculously fast’, late in FP2 for the Spanish GP. The Barcelona native hit the Turn 4 air fence after falling early and sustained a hairline fracture in his hand.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Rins from net worth to career stats

Despite the injury, Rins still managed to attempt a run in Q1, but the Yamaha star would only set a 1:38.977 and will start the Spanish GP from last on the grid. Teammate Quartararo set a 1:35.610 lap to score pole at Jerez plus Yamaha’s first since the 2022 Indonesian Grand Prix.

Hodgson told TNT Sports 2 (26/4, 10:03): “It’s just all the injuries. Eventually, you do start to think, ‘Maybe it’s time’. There’s only so many horrible crashes [you can endure].

“We talked about his leg injury, which has obviously been life-changing for him and is something he’ll have to deal with for the rest of his life.

“You feel like Rins is coming to the end, potentially, which is so sad. I hope not.”

Alex Rins has endured an injury nightmare since breaking his leg at the 2023 Italian GP

Rins’ career has been plagued by injuries since Suzuki pulled out of MotoGP after the 2022 season and the Spaniard joined LCR Honda in the 2023 season. He has even faced a rather stop-start career since joining Quartararo at the factory Yamaha team for the 2024 season.

Rins missed nine rounds of the 2023 term after breaking the tibia and fibula in his right leg in the Sprint Race at the Italian GP. The injury also forced him to undergo surgery and have an external fixator implanted and Rins has walked with a limp in that leg ever since his incident.

Last year also yielded further injury problems after joining Yamaha, with Rins withdrawing from the 2024 German and British Grands Prix due to the hand and foot injuries he picked up earlier on that year at the Dutch TT. It all means he has done just 27 Grands Prix since 2022.

So, while Rins has a contract with Yamaha for 2026, it remains to be seen how much longer he can endure the pain from picking up frequent injuries. His sixth, and most recent, Grand Prix win at the 2023 Grand Prix of the Americas for LCR Honda now seems a long way away.