Yamaha have a simple secret to unlocking Alex Rins' best form
“There won’t be a piece that will make him go a second faster”
Yamaha MotoGP team boss Paolo Pavesio says the Japanese brands wants Alex Rins “to enjoy being part of a project like this” as it looks to reverse his 2024 slump.
Rins didn’t have a stellar first year as a factory Yamaha rider in 2024, with the Spaniard achieving just two top 10 results on his way to 18th in the standings.
His preparations for the year were hindered by a serious leg break that forced him out of most of the 2023 campaign, while further injuries from a Dutch GP crash set him back again in 2024.
After a promising pre-season in 2025 for Yamaha, Rins was only 17th on the timesheets at the end of the Buriram test and doesn’t look yet like he has the race pace to match team-mate Fabio Quartararo.
But as far as Yamaha boss Pavesio is concerned, Rins getting back to “enjoying the bike” again will go a long way to improving his form.
“Fabio is our spearhead and Alex has great potential in terms of speed,” Pavesio told es.motorsport.com.
“This is what Max [Bartolini] tells me, who sees the data. The fact is that as soon as he renewed [for the 2025 season], he crashed and got hurt again.
“He told me his leg is fine and I believe him.
“From my point of view, Alex needs to get back to enjoying the bike, gaining confidence and making the click.
“We signed Alex for two years because we see things in him.
“This is a marathon. There won't be a piece that will make him go a second faster.
“Fabio has entered that mental condition and his mood is positive.
“Alex still has to make that 'click', but seeing how Fabio is, how Jack Miller is, I think it will make Alex grow as well.
“I'm absolutely not saying that Alex isn't showing it 100%; I just think he has to enjoy being part of a project like this.”
Rins has won six grands prix in his MotoGP career so far, five of which with Suzuki and his latest coming in 2023 at the Americas GP with Honda.
He was Honda’s only race winner in 2023 and ended a victory drought for the brand stretching back to 2021 at the time.
That currently remains Honda’s most recent MotoGP win.
