Honda had a very difficult year in 2023, where Álex Rins was the author of the biggest moment in terms of race results, winning the Americas GP. With the move to Yamaha, which has been “Quartararo-dependent,” the question remains: will the Spaniard be the main responsible for repeating such a feat?
With Suzuki’s departure at the end of 2022, Rins followed suit to LCR Honda, after his then teammate Joan Mir moved to the factory team, and with the Japanese manufacturer far from their best, the results were never as expected, especially combined with an injury that forced him to a prolonged absence from the tracks.
The race in Austin was remarkable, but the rest of the season with Honda was not, always with the rider having a clear desire to return to a factory team. The opportunity would arise later: The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team.
Similar to Honda, Yamaha is also “suffering” from a lack of competitiveness and results that can put them on the path to victory and, even further, to compete at the moment with Ducati.
Rins’ first (and only) triumph – and Honda’s – in 2023 happened very early, in the third round of the championship, but the rider will have a new opportunity in 2024 to return to the biggest stages.
The unknown at this moment is to know under what conditions the development work of Yamaha is taking place, and although Quartararo has already shown enthusiasm on one hand, the truth is that his feeling is (once again) tied to the expectation of what may happen, and not so much with what he has already felt, in the tests in Valencia at the end of the season, regarding the performance of the M1.
Still a few months away from the official start of the season, we will see what may happen, but whether Rins can repeat what he did at Honda or not, that… only in a few months.
