For Álex Rins, finishing eighth with the Yamaha in the practice session of the French Grand Prix felt like a triumph. Given the tough season the tuning fork brand has been enduring, avoiding Q1 for the first time this year is a significant achievement for the Catalan rider. It also serves as a strong statement as he looks for a seat beyond Yamaha, with Ai Ogura set to replace him in 2027.
“You looked very happy in the garage, smiling and pumping your fist at the camera…”
“In the end, results like this bring joy and satisfaction. When you know—and the team knows—what weapons we have to fight, achieving something like this makes everyone happy. My mechanics were pleased, and so was I. I’m satisfied with what I did.”
“Why did it work here but not at other circuits?”
“Honestly, the bike works the same as in Jerez or other tracks. I just felt good. When you feel good and can push, you can extract that extra percentage from yourself to set a fast lap. That’s what happened. I was able to squeeze a bit more out of myself, and it paid off. It’s true that at the start of practice, we went out with the hard and soft tires and had the usual problems—the bike wouldn’t turn, slid a lot at the rear, and we couldn’t stop it. I decided to put on the soft front tire to see if we could improve, and it worked.”
“Is this direct entry into Q2 a full-on statement?”
“Yes. As I said, results like this bring joy. Maybe more to some than others, but I’m very happy.”
“There were very different bikes in the garages, and in Jerez you said the old fairing worked well for you.”
“I didn’t want to use a homologation. We have two homologations available. It’s true that when I tested my current fairing in Sepang, I noticed a big improvement. When we tested the old fairing in Jerez, it worked better, but I didn’t want to take the risk of using it.”
MotoGP (France) | Practice: Problems Mount for Márquez
MotoGP (France) | FP1: Márquez Ninth, Half a Second Off Honda