MotoGP Catalunya: Alex Rins’ comeback

Alex Rins’ season has not gone the way he had hoped following an injury at Jerez, but has scored his first podium of the season at Catalunya.

Alex Rins had a fabulous 2019 season, taking his first two MotoGP class wins, hoping to improve on this in 2020, however it was not to be, in the opening round at Jerez during qualifying, Rins suffered a fast crash, injuring his shoulder in the process, this injury caused him to miss the race the next day, but he returned to action a week later at the same circuit, saying the race was a “painful day”.

Since then, Rins has struggled with his shoulder every race, stopping him from pushing for better results due to the pain, for example, he could not push past fourth place to overtake Valentino Rossi at Misano due to the pain, meaning his teammate Joan Mir could overtake him and Rossi on the last few laps.

Rins has had some stand out performances including a fourth-placed finish at Brno which was overlooked by Brad Binder’s impressive race win, this result was only 3 weeks after the original injury and was a fantastic result for him as he struggled.

Austria was also a great performance, briefly leading the race before crashing out, showing he had pace, which he has done all season, but the pain has held him back.

In Catalunya however, Alex Rins was a different man altogether, cutting his way through the pack to take a third-place finish, the first Suzuki double podium since 2007. Rins was incredibly fast and impressive during the race, worrying Joan Mir’s fans that he was going to overtake his teammate for second place. He was able to get past Franco Morbidelli and the Suzuki looked like it was on rails.

Suzuki has demonstrated their strength this season, dominating in races, this looks to be just the start with Rins’ return to the front.

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