On Track Off Road No.181

motogp
BLOG
when necessary. Being young,
he’s already at a good level in
terms of race management.
Friendly and softly spoken to the
extent of sounding out of place
among the glamour and the
egos, Rins may just give Shinya
Nakano a run for his money as
“most unassuming racer” to
grace the premier class in recent
times. Speaking to him in person
can require a double-take; is this
meek, gentle figure really the
same person who took such glee
in barging Marquez on the exit
of Strubben in his coming-of-age
ride at the Dutch Grand Prix?
But don’t let that fool you.
Suzuki is already confident he
won’t shy away as the factory’s
undisputed figurehead now
Iannone has gone. “Already in
the past winter Alex made his
own selection of his own parts,”
recalls Brivio. “We tested chassis,
engine, swingarms and Alex
made his own selection. He built
up his own package. He’s quite
sensitive and good in development
in terms of what he needs,
what he likes.
“Each [rider] made his own
selection [last winter] but Andrea
sometimes went back. In Aragon
for example, Andrea said he
went back and used the setting
of Alex. Sometimes he went in
Alex’s direction.”
There were many similarities to
draw between Viñales and Rins’
second season among the elite.
Unlike his countryman, Rins’
temperament is nowhere near
as explosive. And he now has
the chance to build on a further
winter surrounded by a team he
knows. T
rue to form, he batted away suggestions
he goes into 2019 as a
title contender. “It’s too early to
think of the target for the next
year,” he said. “First of all, I want
to get my first victory in a MotoGP
with Suzuki. This I is our
main goal.” Don’t expect this levelheaded
youngster to relinquish
his newly-found place near the
head of the table anytime soon.