Increased Honda support could have made it a harder decision but Alex Rins switching from the satellite LCR team to the factory Yamaha MotoGP project for 2024 wasn’t a surprise for Simon Crafar.
Rins may have broken Honda’s MotoGP win drought at COTA but the former Suzuki rider continued to be left down the pecking order for new parts and was 'looking lonely' at LCR.
As such, although Yamaha is also struggling this season and yet to win a race, the chance to have the full support of a factory will have made the decision ‘easy’.: “Yamaha are not in the best situation either at the moment, but the way I see it, if Honda had made Alex feel like a factory rider even though he was in a satellite team it would have been a hard decision.
“But looking from the outside they haven’t done that. He’s looked lonely and close to… I would even venture to say ignored in that satellite team. Even after his win. That’s my gut feeling. “Then the decision is so easy if [another] manufacturer comes to you and says, ‘Do you want to be our factory rider?’ You’ve got to do it."I think it’s an inspired move by [Yamaha Racing boss] Lin Jarvis. My only concern is that Alex has been through a lot with this injury and even before the injury he’s had a tough time.
“Yes, he had the win in Austin, but he’s basically otherwise gone through what Joan Mir has gone through.
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