Álex Rins is still adapting to a new reality in MotoGP, now as a factory rider again with Yamaha, and there were signs of growth on the second day of testing in Qatar, he assured.
The Spaniard, who after leaving Suzuki spent a season at LCR Honda, even giving the brand its only victory in 2023, started by praising the improvements made in one of the main aspects that the Yamaha M1 lacked compared to the competition: ‘Overall, I think Yamaha has improved the engine. On the straights, we are quite strong, so they did a good job during the winter break.’
Rins then spoke about his own work and how he is trying to find a way to get more out of his bike: ‘We focused more on improving our setup, trying to make the bike higher, lower, longer, shorter, to understand where we can improve, if there is room for improvement or not. And to be honest, I took a step forward compared to the first day in Qatar.’
With a time of 1:52.103s, Rins was 16th on the second day of testing in Losail and stressed that there is still a long way to go to reach the fastest riders: ‘We are still far from the top. I am at 1:52s and Fabio [Quartararo] is also 1s off the fastest, so we still have a lot of work to do to reduce that difference. If we want to fight for victory, we have to work even harder. But I think our way of working is correct, so we are ready to go.’
