Alex Rins to re-try ‘automatic’ Yamaha ride-height device at Thai MotoGP

Alex Rins has revealed he will re-try a ‘Ducati-style’ automatic ride-height system during this weekend’s Thai MotoGP.

Rather than pressing a button to instantly lower the M1 on the exit of a slow corner, reducing wheelie, the automatic system allows a rider to prime the device on the way into the corner, with the rear then lowering ‘automatically’ on the exit.

“Yamaha created an automatic one - we say automatic, but you still need to press - so here we are going to use it,” Rins said at Buriram on Thursday.

“[It] looks like the same system as Ducati. For example, we are going to use it exiting from the second last corner. I mean we activate it and we then [don’t] push again until before corner four.

“So for sure, it's less demanding for the finger!”

“This is the main benefit,” Rins added. “Because for example, the first time they brought it was in Austria and it was not working at 100%. So I was using a mix.

“But in the end, it's quite similar [performance] and in my case - since they were introduced in ’20 or ’21 - I’ve always used manual, so I'm used to use it.”

In terms of engines, Rins revealed that he prefers a slightly different ‘configuration’ to team-mate Fabio Quartararo.

“We have the same engine but with a different configuration. Inside is quite different,” Rins said.

“What I like about my engine is the cornering. My one corners a little bit better than his engine,” he continued.

“It's a configuration that we tested quite a lot of times in Valencia, Mugello, and I always prefer this kind of engine.

“So they allowed me to use it and like this also we are taking information in both directions [for next year].”

Quartararo revealed on Thursday that Yamaha is planning to introduce one more new engine spec during the remaining three rounds:

“We will have, I think, before the end of the season a new spec [engine] with more top speed.”