Alex Rins finished third in the Argentinian Grand Prix - the scene of his first MotoGP podium - to take his first top-three finish of 2022.
Rins rode a strong opening lap to pick up a couple of positions. He held fifth for a period before eventually moving to fourth, and then up to third.
Once there it turned into a fairly lonely affair, as he had a safe margin behind to his teammate, Joan Mir, and while he matched the pace of the leaders, he wasn’t able to bridge the gap to the front two, despite closing in in the final laps to finish just half a second down on Jorge Martin in second place.
After a solid opening two rounds and now a podium, the result sees him sit fourth in the championship standings, nine points off the series lead.
He said, "I’m so happy to get third and be back on the podium, especially in Argentina. This is a great result, but I need to qualify better to give myself more chances.
"It wasn’t an easy race, because the level of all the riders is so high and you have to stay calm and make clean passes. In the end I was close to the top two riders, but it wasn’t quite possible.
"But third feels great and I’m excited to go to Austin with a clear mind and try to repeat my performance – it’s another track I like.”
Mir, too, had a strong ride, to finish fourth at the flag. He commented, “My start was good, but on the first couple of laps I couldn’t manage to do many overtakes. I started more or less in the middle of the grid, which isn’t the best place to be; because if you’re on either side you have a few more opportunities to overtake on the first corners.
"But anyway, the race has been good, I was able to be consistent, and I could show nice pace. On the last laps I had the impression that I was strong, my feelings were great, and this is the most important thing. We move to Austin now, and we’ll try to make another step with the bike and setup, even if that track doesn’t suit my style very well I will try to be competitive and keep building before we get to Europe."
Team manager, Livio Suppo, added, "It’s been a very positive weekend. Our riders and our bike confirmed their high level of performance. I’m super happy to see Alex on the podium, the first of the season and Joan also did a great job - really close to the podium as well. We’ll aim to keep this momentum and go to Austin with confidence where we’ll continue fighting. I feel very proud that we’re leading the Teams’ Championship, it’s a good start for now."