Rins gives Honda a joy in his idyll with Austin

Rough third MotoGP race, with another mistake and Bagnaia crash

MADRID, 16 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish rider Álex Rins prevailed this Sunday in the Grand Prix of the Americas, the third round of the World Championship, to celebrate his first victory with Honda and the fourth of his career in Austin, an idyll that could cope with a day of falls and surprises.

Rins brought joy to the Japanese brand, the only one to finish the GP, in a season that is once again looking complicated. Honda’s first victory since 2021, Misano with Marc Márquez, with 2018 being the last of a satellite, left a great performance by Rins. The World Championship continues to be led by Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) with 64 points, ahead of a Bagnaia back on the ground (53) and Rins (47).

The Catalan squeezed the world champion, a Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) who, after winning the sprint on Saturday, went for the World Championship lead. However, with 13 laps to go, the Italian failed again, like in Argentina, and ended up on the ground. Rins kept his head and did not let go to sign his sixth victory in MotoGP and the eighteenth in total.

With the pilots at the limit, COTA left crashes of all colors, with nine dropouts. On the first lap, three Spaniards were left out: Álex Márquez (Ducati) and a Jorge Martín (Ducati) who took his compatriot plus a few laps later Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia). The Repsol Hondas were not spared from crashes, from Joan Mir and a Stefan Bradl who replaced Marc Márquez.

With Bagnaia out of action and shortly before the crash of a Jack Miller (KTM) who was in third place, the victory was left on a platter for Rins. Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had to settle for being third, although he celebrated his first podium of the season, and continuing with the surprises, the Italian Luca Marini (Ducati) got on the drawer for the first time in MotoGP.