English
Italiano
Alex Rins ended the three-day event at the Sepang circuit - the first real taste of the 2025 MotoGP season - in 9th place, but beyond the top 10 finish, which was comforting in itself. What gave the Spanish rider confidence were the sensations he felt on the bike. It was precisely the last day he had available that allowed the Spanish side of the Yamaha garage to make improvements that apparently paid off.
"Yesterday, I would've said I was satisfied, but not one-hundred percent, because I was struggling to brake the bike, and the rear tire kept staying up quite a long time. But, today, we found something that made us improve, so I'm happy with the whole time spent in Malaysia," he said, hot off the presses. "We tested several new parts, but we also focused a lot on the set-up. At the end of the Montmelo race, I was dissatisfied with the riding level but, instead, we're leaving here with a very good foundation."
"At around 10 am, I saw that some were mounting new tires, but I didn't feel up to it, since I already felt uncomfortable with the used ones to attempt a time attack," he continued in his analysis. "For the moment, it's still difficult for us to get up to speed, and we lack grip on the rear, so I delayed using the new set until I gained confidence and worked on the bike. When it was about 11:30, 11:45, I felt better and even improved my race time from a 1'57"7 to a 1'57"3. So we'll see how it goes in Thailand, but I'm optimistic."
How did you feel, physically?
"Better. I just have some pain in my hands, as is normal after riding a MotoGP bike for so many days."
Did you get a chance to get into someone's slipstream?
"I wanted to, but I didn't meet up with many riders. It felt like a private test. Only at the end of the day did I follow Viñales but, in the last two corners, he went wide, so it was easy to get behind him. We'll see in Buriram if we have some air on the straights."
Do you think they worked well in Japan?
"Yes, very well and a lot of the innovations gave a good response. On the contrary, we tried a chassis with a different configuration, but without a response. It's now going to be taken to Italy for the necessary tests. Definitely, not having to bring it back to Asia will shorten the times."
Did you also compare yourself with the other Yamaha riders?
"The Pramacs were very strong, so I looked at their telemetry to see where to improve. But, basically, I just thought about me. Clearly, having two more bikes helps in terms of electronics and decision-making, however, in this test, we preferred to follow a set plan."
Dovizioso was in the garage for a long time. Did he coach you?
"He rode the first few days. He's very talented and, with Fernandez, he can do a great job for us and improve the bike. I had asked him for advice, which I needed."
