Suzuki announced earlier this year that it would be quitting MotoGP at the end of 2022 in a shock move that comes just two seasons after it won the world championship with Joan Mir.
Since the announcement, Suzuki’s season has come off the rails, with Rins going without a podium since the Americas Grand Prix in April.
Starting from 10th, Rins beat Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and Honda’s Marc Marquez in a thrilling last-lap battle at Phillip Island on Sunday to become the seventh different winner in 2022.
Rins – who will move to Honda in 2023 with LCR – praised Suzuki for never “throwing down the towel” during a tough 2022 and dedicated the win to the team.
“It was not easy for us as a team to know that next year the team is not continuing in the championship,” Rins said. “So, we had not so good races.
“So, I was involved in some crashes with some riders, in Montmelo I broke my hand.
“So, the key was to don’t give up, we never threw down the towel.
“So, we deserved this victory. This one is for all the team, for the ones who got some contracts for next year and for the ones who didn’t. This one is for them.”
Rins led briefly at several stages of the 27-lap race and admits he’d hoped to be able to break away as the frontrunners were “riding a little bit too slow” – but was forced to change tactics when he kept getting overtaken.
“I was feeling quite good from the beginning, I was able to manage the rear tire really well,” he added.
“When I was behind Pecco, or at the beginning behind [Jorge] Martin, I realized they were riding a little bit too slow.
“So, I tried to stay in front, maybe open a small gap, taking care of the rear tire on the spinning.
“But they overtook me on the straights, so I decided to stay behind and try to arrive at the end of the race with a little bit more.
“I knew if I started the last lap in second I had some chances to overtake Pecco between corner one and corner two.”