Austin (United States), 14 apr. The Spanish Alex Rins (Honda RC 213 V), who achieved third position at the end of the first practice day of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, stated that he was “happy, more than surprised” with the result.
“We are working well and this result is based on work. In the end, it is true that I like this track and that I like the atmosphere, I have always been fast, but we must continue working and of course that this time that I have not It comes because I like the track. You have to keep pushing”, Rins clarified.
The Honda driver explained his approach to the tires by acknowledging that “I’ve gone down a lot, but because this morning I didn’t put the soft one, which a priori is the race tire and the tire I put on at the start of FP2, which was a new soft tyre, I was surprised because I was rolling super slow, a second slower than the others who were on used tyres”.
“I did ten laps with that tyre, which physically cost me a lot, because it was slipping a lot and I didn’t have any grip, and when I put on the new tyre, I think it worked a little better and it was this change that we made”, Rins explained.
Regarding the fact that the absence of Marc Márquez is noticeable, Alex Rins highlighted that “of course, as I said before, we cannot forget that Marc has the bike made for him. He is a super fast rider and here he always goes very fast So it’s a shame he’s not here.”
“Yes, it’s true that we can compare the data from last year, but the conditions change, the grip, the tires, the bumps… But we have to work. I’m happy, because I did the time alone, pushing, so see what we can do tomorrow”, Rins continued about it.
“In the end, I try to do my best with what I have and it is true that I ask, I ask and I ask, we hold meetings, I sit with them and the truth is that they listen to me, but I don’t know… We’ll see and see”, noted Alex Rins about his relationship with Honda engineers.
Regarding the third chassis, he said he did not know what could have happened if he had used it, “we will never know this. I don’t know. The truth is that if I have the opportunity to test this chassis that Stefan and Joan have, it would be difficult for me to draw clear conclusions. Now You know the format that exists this year. Today was to make another comparison with my chassis and the one that Marc likes, and tomorrow we have to focus on the race”.
“In FP3 you have to work thinking about the race, to then do qualifying and the sprint race. As I said before, when I go out on the track I give my all, and that’s it,” Rins stressed.
Alex Rins was critical of the state of the circuit because for him “it is very close to the level of potholes and with the super curly asphalt. The critical points, apart from the potholes, which are turns 11 or 12, are where there are all the falls. The asphalt is fatal, we will speak again in the Safety Commission”, to recognize that in turn one “there is the same bump as always, but with each passing year it is more pronounced”. EFE
JLL/plv
