Rins “anticipated” to crash in the MotoGP final while battling for the win

Alex Rins of Suzuki says he “expected” to crash out of the MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix while contending for the win because he went slightly off-line.

Rins worked his way up to second place by lap six, separating the Ducatis of Pramac’s Jorge Martin and eventual winner Francesco Bagnaia at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

Rins was demoted almost immediately by Bagnaia, but the Suzuki rider stayed close to the front two when the top three broke away.

Rins, on the other hand, crashed on lap 11 at the Turn 6 left-hander after running “a little bit wide,” according to him.

“Unlucky race in Valencia, for sure,” Rins said. “It’s a big shame to finish the season like this, because the pace was there.

“I did a mistake. I was a little bit not on the line, I was a little bit wide. Before the crash I expected it because I wasn’t in the good line.

“But that’s all. I mean, it was quite difficult behind Pecco and Martin.

“But let’s finish this season and let’s go to the Jerez test to try a new bike and see if we can fight next year.”

Rins’ fifth racing crash of the season occurred while he was in a strong position.

“The key thing is that we analyse the crash in the box and we identified why I crashed,” Rins said when asked what he could do during the winter to eliminate this from his game for 2022.

“Let’s see. Let’s learn a lot from this year to go onto the next one.

“I wasn’t in the correct line. The pressure of the brake was good, but I had a bit more angle.”

Rins finishes the 2021 season in 13th place, with only 99 points, after only one podium finish – a second at the British Grand Prix.

Suzuki won the title in 2020, however neither of its riders won in the previous season, with outgoing world champion Joan Mir making six rostrum appearances.

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