Alex Rins believes that given the track characteristics, Assen will remain a strong track for both his Suzuki team and Yamaha rivals as he revisits a track that gave him a breakthrough 12 months ago.
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After a first MotoGP podium in the United States MotoGP last year, Rins struggled to repeat his top pace until he battled seven riders for victory in the Netherlands before eventually finishing second behind winner Marc Marquez missed.
Since that race, Rins has led the Suzuki group and took three more podiums in 2017 before his maiden victory in the premier class, another first on the Circuit of the Americas in this year’s MotoGP in the United States, with a second place in the next race in Jerez.
After missing the podium in the last three laps, including two near misses with consecutive fourth places in Mugello and Montmelo, Rins is eager to rediscover the pace at Assen in the podium battle that he expects both Suzuki and Yamaha to do favors the flowing route with fewer demands on absolute top speed and acceleration.
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“The key is to go full throttle. This track looks like a good track for the Suzuki bike, but also for Yamaha, ”said Rins. “But as you could see last year, the group was huge with a lot of drivers at the front.
“We’ll try to give 100% and I really enjoy the track when I overtake, take the fast corners, so let’s try to do a good job.”
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Given his frustrating Catalan MotoGP, Rins hopes to make amends for the mistakes from that race as he was a strong podium contender in second place in the final laps before clashing with Danilo Petrucci who dropped him to fourth.
“When I was second I tried to get away from Petrucci but it was difficult and maybe in the hot conditions, I don’t know why, but we suffered a lot,” he said. “We also suffered a lot when we tried to overtake the Ducati motorcycles.
“The pressure increased and the motorcycle floated. I saved a near-crash and went home with points, so that’s the most important thing. “
Rins remains third in the MotoGP World Championship, but only two points behind Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso.