Suzuki have announced that Alex Rins will remain with the team for at least the next two years, meaning the Spaniard will ride a GSX-RR until at least the end of 2020.
Rins has impressed Suzuki over his time in the team, scoring his and Suzuki’s first podium since 2016 with a third-place finish in Argentina earlier this year.
Rins made his MotoGP debut with Suzuki in 2017 after finishing a strong couple of years in Moto2, where he secured two top-three championship standings results.
He showed good pace during his maiden season in the premier class despite missing several races through injury, scoring two top-five finishes in the last four races to cap off 2017.
The Spaniard said:
I’m very happy about this contract renewal. Even when I was still in Moto2, and I was planning to move to MotoGP, it was always the Suzuki project which looked brightest and most interesting in my eyes.
My debut last year was complicated; there was my back injury in the 2016 Valencia test, then the ankle injury while training, and finally the arm injury in Austin. So after only two races we had already been through a very tough time, but I always felt the affection and support of Suzuki and the whole team.
The project that the Team have set up for me is fantastic, I can fully trust the capabilities of the Company and the Team when it comes to development and improvement, and I’m sure we can continue to aim for big results. Now we only have to keep on working hard to see just how far we can go…
Davide Brivio, Suzuki Team Manager said that
I’m very happy that we have been able to finalise the renewal of Alex’s contract for the 2019 and 2020 MotoGP seasons.
Alex is growing and improving fast, and knowing that we will have a long time together allows everybody to concentrate and work even harder to achieve important results with him.
I’m glad that Alex was happy to stay with us, and I want to thank Alex’s crew and everyone in the Team, as well as all the staff in Japan for creating a nice environment where he feels he can continue to work well and grow. Now let’s carry on doing a great job with this exciting project together.
Suzuki have yet to decide on Rins’ team-mate for 2019 and beyond, with incumbent rider Andrea Iannone thought to be on the chopping block after a poor 2017 aboard the GSX-RR.
The team is thought to have approached Jorge Lorenzo, although whether the three-time MotoGP world champion joins Suzuki depends on whether he feels staying at Ducati beyond his current deal would be a lost cause.
