Álex Rins’s first season with Monster Energy Yamaha was challenging. The rider achieved an eighth place as his best result, during a phase when the manufacturer is still rebuilding and not yet competitive.
Despite the modest results, the Spaniard expressed satisfaction with the season and explained his reasoning: ‘If I’m saying now that I’m happy with a P8, it’s because I gave my 100%. Everybody, or many people, know what we have – the bike that we have. Right now, it’s not a bike to fight for the victory’.
Rins continued: ‘For sure, this season I worked so hard on myself, at home, on my head. Because I finished my season with Suzuki winning, I jumped on a Honda and I won a race, but it was also hard. I jumped on a Yamaha, and my best result was a P8 in Sepang’.
Considering the progress made since first riding the YZR-M1, the #42 draws positive conclusions: ‘Many people know the level the bike is at. So, I’m happy because I was able to make progress, I was able to improve the bike from the Valencia test to the last round. So, for this reason I’m happy – more than the results. Everyone knows for example, how Ducati is working, how other manufacturers are looking better than us’.