Alex Rins ‘feeling good’ for Austria return, Quartararo ‘will try some new things’
‘We are happy that Alex is back again. Missing a GP due to injury is like a punishment for a rider’
Forced to abandon his return to MotoGP action after Friday practice at Silverstone, Alex Rins is ‘feeling good’ to try again in Austria this weekend.
The Monster Yamaha rider backed out of the British Grand Prix due to the hand and foot injuries he sustained at Assen, in June.
“The pain that I’m feeling and the risk of a bigger injury, along with the medical advice, makes me take this decision,” Rins said at the time.
The Spaniard, confirmed as staying alongside Fabio Quartararo in 2025, has used the time since Silverstone to continue his recovery.
“I was very disappointed that I couldn't ride in Silverstone, but I used that to motivate me even more to come back stronger for Spielberg,” Rins said.
“I've been training on and off the bike, and I've stayed in contact with medical experts throughout the process. I'm feeling good, so I'm excited to be back aboard my M1 again.”
Austria kicks off an intense run of track action for Yamaha, which will head for a private test at Misano immediately after the Red Bull Ring.
That test is the first of four appearances the Yamaha and Honda race riders are expected to make at Misano over the next six weeks, alongside two race weekends and an official test.
There is also the Aragon GP at the end of this month.
“We have a busy period coming up, and this is good for us,” said Quartararo. “The feeling during the Silverstone weekend was, for the most part, not great, so there is work to do, and the more laps we can get in, the better.
“We're going to do what we always do this year: we will try some new things, collect data, and give it our 100% in Spielberg in the Sprint and the Race."
Team Director Massimo Meregalli said: “First of all, let me start by saying that we are happy that Alex is back again. Missing a GP due to injury is like a punishment for a rider.
“With our original rider line-up complete again, we are keen to get to work. Our team like everything about the Spielberg GP: the venue, location, and atmosphere – it's all great.
“This track does have a somewhat unique layout, though, with its stop-start nature and only eleven turns, so this makes it also an interesting circuit for collecting data.”
Only Ducati and KTM have won at the stop-go Red Bull Ring since its return to the MotoGP calendar in 2016.