Honda ‘hurt’ by Alex Rins criticism ‐ warned him against doing it again

Alex Rins was told by Honda not to publicly criticise them again, according to Spanish media.

Days before claiming the Japan‐ ese manufacturer’s first MotoGP win in two years, and the first since 2018 via a rider other than Marc Marquez, Rins had com‐ plained about not being utilised enough for testing.

Honda were left “very, very hurt” by Rins’ comments, ac‐ cording to Informacion.es.

And they have warned him that if he makes negative statements about Honda in public again, they will take “the appropriate measures”.

However, sources inside Honda reveal that statements Rins may or may not have made did not impact him getting or not getting the frame Honda and Kalex co‐ developed.

Rins didn’t have a chance to test the Kalex chassis at the Jerez test, and was asked if he tried test rider Stefan Bradl’s bike, re‐ plying: "No. I was quite sur‐ prised, because originally they said to me that only Stefan is going to test the new frame, the new chassis and I heard in the TV that Joan also tried.

“Unluckily his bike [stopped] in corner six, but I was quite sur‐ prised about this."

His previous criticism which aggrieved his team, before the Grand Prix of the Americas, was: “I feel that Honda relies little on me; I feel untapped.

“A small example is what hap‐ pened in Argentina. After testing Marc's chassis, which is different from the one Joan had been using, I asked them if they would also let me test Mir's, to get an overall idea.

“I thought it was the right time to test. And they said no, even though they have spare units.

“I tried to talk to them, but they are very square. It's not that they don't listen to me, but that they don't take advantage of me.”

The ex‐Suzuki rider won at COTA days after his critical words, then failed to finish the Spanish MotoGP.