It has been announced today ahead of the French Grand Prix in Le Mans that Alex Rins will stay with the Ecstar Suzuki team for 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Alex Rins will remain with Ecstar Suzuki joining the likes of the KTM 2019 and 2020 duo Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro in announcing a 2 year deal.
Alex Rins joined the Ecstar Suzuki Team in 2017 but was plagued by injury early on in the season, towards the end of last season he started to show his real potential with a couple of top 4 results, he backed this up by starting this season strongly with battling in the leading group in Qatar before crashing out and of course his first podium at Termas De Rio Hondo in Argentina.
In a interview with motogp.com Alex 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.”
“We were able to turn the situation around through being patient, working hard, and being consistent, and finally this year we got the first podium together with my third place in Argentina. But no matter the results, whether good or bad, the mood in the box has always been positive.”
“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…”
?Great news ahead of the #FrenchGP; @Rins42 stays with us for two more years!? #SUZUKing @MotoGP #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/FHnXS9pPu9
— Team SUZUKI ECSTAR (@suzukimotogp) May 17, 2018
Team Manager Davide Brivio also speaking to motogp.com:
“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.”
