RiderTua.com – If we remember, Casey Stoner once said, let the bike dance…’The bike must be driven according to the will of the bike, the rider must do everything possible with set-up and riding to adapt to the situation. When I ride the bike I let it move freely. All my body sensations are created in such a way that the bike can move according to its wishes’. Yamaha MotoGP team newcomer Alex Rins will take part in his first private test under the manufacturer’s 2024 technical concession rules at Portimao on Monday after the race. Although Repsol Honda newcomer Luca Marini recently carried out a private test at Jerez, Yamaha has not taken advantage of the opportunity to carry out additional tests with their riders.
On Thursday in Portimao, Alex Rins said, “This Monday, after the race weekend we will do a test. I still don’t know what items we will try. But we will try it on Monday and I think it will be interesting because the test is immediately after race weekend.”
Alex Rins: I Need to Make a Yamaha Bike According to My Riding Style, Different From Stoner?
His teammate Fabio Quartararo is also expected to take part in the test. Opportunity to use other concession facilities in the form of unsealed engine changes. This means Rins has no need to panic after a difficult start to the season in Qatar.
Even though by finishing in 11th position Quartararo became the best Japanese brand rider after fighting fiercely against two Honda riders, Johann Zarco and Joan Mir, El Diablo was 10 seconds further behind the winner (+17 seconds) compared to the race in November at the end of last year. Meanwhile, Rins finished his first race with the M1 in 16th position, 24 seconds behind winner Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati).
Alex Rins explained, “I’m not panicking because that’s the way it is and if we panic, maybe our minds are not free to think and race as well as we know. It’s true that there are some parts that we will try, I think the test on Monday might not be we can use straight away for the next series in Austin because there should be some prototype parts, right?”
“But for sure, the concessions gave me the confidence to improve. They gave me the confidence to do more laps with the bike and to work better with the team. Now we are in the phase of knowing how things work. In Qatar, we are a lot difficulties with the front, we destroyed the tires because of the set-up of the bike.”
“This bike has several adjustments, for example for Fabio. Because Fabio made this bike according to his wishes. That’s normal. Fabio and myself have a similar but slightly different racing style. So I need to make the bike also suit my racing style,” added Alexandra Perez’s husband.
For now, Yamaha’s main weakness is rear grip which was especially noticeable in qualifying. Where the M1 only started in 16th (Quartararo) and 20th (Rins) positions in Qatar. “If we qualify in a good position, 50-60 percent of the race is finished. If we don’t make a bad start, we just adjust our position and go!” emphasized the 28 year old rider.
Rins said that from now on they need to ask for more tyres, more fuel, and then at the end of the race need to organize everything more. “In our case, we also experienced problems with the engine during qualifying in Qatar. However, the grip conditions in qualifying were not the best for us and Yamaha had difficulty in qualifying. Let’s see in Portimao,” concluded the former Suzuki MotoGP rider.
