It’s an open question how fit Alex Rins will be for his Yamaha debut at the end of November – But for Fabio Quartararo, this one day of testing won’t make much difference
It remains to be seen whether Alex Rins will be able to get back on his LCR Honda for the Malaysian Grand Prix. On October 26, the Spaniard had to undergo another operation on his lower right leg to relieve pain from the healing fibula
The recovery from the broken leg is taking longer than originally predicted. In June, Rins broke his right tibia and fibula in a sprint crash at Mugello. Initially, team boss Lucio Cecchinello hoped for a comeback in early September in Barcelona.
But Rins only got the green light from doctors for the Japanese Grand Prix at the end of September. He did a few laps on Friday, but then had to hand the bike over to Honda test rider Stefan Bradl, who finished the weekend.
Rins then tried again in Indonesia. The 27-year-old was able to complete the entire weekend in Mandalika. He celebrated an acclaimed ninth place with his team. The comeback seemed to have succeeded.
But in Australia, Rins again had to throw in the towel after Friday. He flew back to Madrid and, as mentioned at the beginning, had to undergo surgery again. The leg fracture at Mugello virtually wiped out the rest of Rins’ season.
The view also already goes into the future. During the summer break, the Spaniard signed with the Yamaha factory team. Is the long recovery period causing concern for his future teammate Fabio Quartararo?
Indeed, it is questionable whether Rins will be able to turn his first laps with the M1 in top form at the Valencia test at the end of November. “First of all, I want to say that health is more important than the bike,” Quartararo stressed.
“I really wish him to be back at 100 percent soon. I don’t know how bad the [last] operation was. But we can clearly see that it’s never good to come back too early. That was the case with him, that was the case with Marc [Marquez].”
“If he is not at the Valencia test, it would not change massively for us,” Quartararo said. “The most important thing is that he gets back to 100 percent fitness.” Quartararo and Rins are practically neighbors, as both live in Andorra.
