Americas GP: Alex Rins claims his first victory ahead of Valentino Rossi

Michelle Liew

April 15, 2019

The Americas GP had its series of ups and downs this season, with Alex Rins taking on his first win and Honda suffering from a double retirement.

The Americas GP has closed its veil with Suzuki rider Alex Rin claiming his first MotoGP victory, dethroning Marc Marquez. The weekend in Austin, Texas, was a whirlwind for all riders. They managed to show impressive performances in the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Rins took his win ahead of Monster Yamaha‘s Valentino Rossi in an exhilarating duel over the last 10 laps. Jack Miller of Pramac Ducati also made it to the podium for the first time this season in the Americas GP. Honda riders Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo however, were unable to deliver a podium in this race. Marquez scored pole on Saturday, with high aims to take on the Sunday race with triumph. The Spanish crashed at Turn 12 on Lap 9 and lost the lead when he slid off the track. He tried to get back on his bike but was unable to continue as he could not restart his Honda.

Alex Rins (Suzuki MotoGP): As It Happened

“It’s incredible! I’m very happy to win the race here! In warm-up this morning we tried a different set-up and it didn’t work in the way we expected, so we reverted to the usual settings for the race and we won, it’s super! I’m lost for words! I managed the pressure well, even though I suffered a bit in the last laps. When I crossed the line all the feelings hit me at once. I just want to say a big thank you to all my team, everyone in Japan, and all the people around me!” Rins stated as quoted from McNews.

Valentino Rossi (Monster Yamaha): As It Happened

Rossi however, felt as if he could have done better. The Italian connotes that Monster Yamaha is keeping a strong front this season and hopes to achieve much more. “I’m very sorry for missing out on the victory because when I saw Márquez crash I said to myself ‘Maybe I can do it’, but after that Rins arrived. Sincerely, I pushed to the maximum, the race was very fast, I did one good lap after another, but in the end, he was better than I was. I was riding very well, and I wasn’t able to overtake him. It’s a shame because I haven’t won for a long time, but we are strong, and we will try again next time,” he states as quoted from Monster Yamaha. “On a positive note, I tried everything today, I rode a very good race and stayed in front for a long time. Riding on the limit, unfortunately, I made some mistakes. Maybe if I had done everything perfectly I could have tried to attack the last lap again. So, mixed feelings: on the one side, I’m sorry about the victory. On the other side, it’s a great result after a great weekend. I was strong and I rode a very good last lap, but I didn’t want to do anything too crazy because 20 points are very important for the championship, which is still very open. It looks like we are strong this year and that the bike has improved. These are the most important things because maybe we can fight at the front many times this season.”

Marc Marquez (Honda): As It Happened

“We have had six amazing years here but today I made a big mistake. When I arrived in the garage I said sorry to the team and now I’d like to say sorry to the fans because it was my mistake. It’s different to make a mistake fighting for fifth and fighting for the win, the level is there. We’re only nine points off the lead. It’s true, we made a mistake but we are human and this can happen. We need to learn from it and understand and come back stronger in Jerez,” Marquez states as per McNews.

What’s next after the Americas GP?

The racers will be heading to the European leg of the season in Spain.