Alex Rins

Stunned by Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, then sending the GSX-RR out in style by winning two of its final three races, Alex Rins will start a new chapter in his career at LCR Honda in 2023.

Alex Rins - Route to MotoGP

Having followed the wheel tracks of numerous countrymen by progressing through the CEV ranks, Rins got his grand prix debut in 2012 in Moto3 with the Estrella Galicia 0,0 tema on a Suter Honda, impressing to immediately by scoring a pole position in Spain in only his second meeting.

After notching up his first - and only - podium of the year in France, Rins was a consistent performer with eight top six finishes earning him top rookie status in fifth overall.

Expected to mount a title tilt in 2013, Rins went toe-to-toe with Maverick Vinales and Luis Salom, the trio winning all 18 races between them. Rins clinched six of them but would ultimately lose out to Vinales’ greater consistency as he fell 12 points shy of the title despite winning three more races than his countryman.

While Vinales and Salom progressed to Moto2, Rins was given a third shot at Moto3 glory but would again come up short, losing out to Alex Marquez and Jack Miller in the fight for the title, despite adding two wins to his repertoire.

Nonetheless, Rins progressed to Moto2 in 2016 and emerged as the year’s standout on the Pons Kalex, landing two victories at Indianapolis and at Phillip Island to secure the runners-up spot in his debut year behind Johann Zarco.

Like Zarco, Rins remained in the intermediate class for another year in 2016 but despite wins in Texas and Le Mans, he’d end his year third in the standings. 

Alex Rins in MotoGP

Suzuki (2017 - Present)

Despite having no grand prix world titles to his name, Rins was nonetheless selected by Suzuki to make his MotoGP debut in 2017, in place of countryman Maverick Vinales, who’d switched to Yamaha.

With Suzuki looking to hone young talent alongside its more experienced lead rider Andrea Iannone, Rins enjoyed a positive debut with a run to the top ten on his debut in Qatar before an accident in Texas ruled him out for two months with a wrist injury.

On his return to action he proved a solid top ten performer, peaking with top five results in front of Suzuki bosses at Motegi and at the Valencia season finale.

With the evolving Suzuki GSX-RR package proving stronger in 2018, Rins emerged as a revelation from the year as he comfortably out-performed Iannone despite a slow start defined by five DNFs from the opening half of the year.

However, when he finished it was often strongly with maiden podiums occurring in Argentina and the Netherlands before a trio of top threes from the final four races lifted him up to fifth in the final standings.

With a new two-year agreement in his back pocket, Rins came out fighting in 2019 to record his first win in Texas and a tremendous second success at Silverstone, achieved by winning a thrilling final lap duel with Marc Marquez that could only be determined by a photo-finish.

Coupled with strong top five results elsewhere, Rins ended the year fourth in the final standings for Suzuki’s best MotoGP result since its return to action. 

Tipped as an outside title hope for 2020, Rins’ status was elevated on the back of hot favourite Marc Marquez falling foul of injury in the opening round at Jerez. However, Rins too was hobbled by a dislocated shoulder that ruled him out of the opening event and continued to dog him for the first half of the year.

Despite this he was often one of the more consistent front runners in what was a topsy-turvy season, but saw potential wins fall by the wayside in Austria and Le Mans when he slid off while in the heat of the victory battle. 

As such, though he mounted a large charge with a win and two podiums in three of the final five races, he could only recover to third overall, 32 points behind his championship winning team-mate Joan Mir.

Any hopes of Rins delivering a 2022 championship challenge were undone by no less than six race crashes, plus a bizzarre cycling accident when he rode into the back of a parked van while training at the track on the eve of the Catalunya round, fraucturing his wrist.

Finishing just 13th in the world championship, ten places behind Mir, Rins' sparse 2021 highlights were a lone podium at Silverstone, outqualifying Mir 11 times in 17 rounds and giving the flagging GSX-RR its only laps in the race lead.

While Suzuki delivered on more horsepower for 2022, Rins rebounded by climbing from 7th to 5th to 3rd and then 2nd during the opening rounds of the season. But suxh early momentum was torn away by the factory's shock exit decision after round six at Jerez.

Rins, who admitted to being left in tears by the news, didn't see the chequered flag again until just before the summer break at Assen, including a broken wrist after a second tangle in as many races with Takaaki Nakagami in Catalunya.

The #42 still hadn't re-entered the top six by the final stages of the season but then pulled off a dream last-lap victory over Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia from tenth on the grid at Phillip Island. 

Rins and the GSX-RR, the only bike he has raced since joining MotoGP, weren't done yet and he dominated Suzuki's emotional farewell race at Valencia.

Two days later it was back down to earth with 20th place on his LCR Honda debut at the Valencia test.

Rins, who like team-mate Joan Mir had intended to re-sign for Suzuki, chose the troubled RC213V project over alternative satellite offers due to the promise of 2023 machinery.