Alex Rins
| Date of birth: 08/12/1995 Birthplace: Barcelona Hometown: Barcelona Hobbies: supermotard, motocross, BTT. Nacionality: Spanish Years as Repsol rider: 4 (including 2014) |
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Honours
First Grand Prix: 2012 Qatar (Moto3)
First Podium: 2012 France (Moto3)
First Win: 2013 Austin (Moto3)
Total Grand Prix: 51 (51 in Moto3)
Fatest Laps: 5 (5 in Moto3)
Poles: 13 (13 in Moto3)
Podiums: 23 (23 in Moto3)
Wins: 8 (8 in Moto3)
Sporting career
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2003 |
Starts in motocross |
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2004 |
Champion in Aragon of motocross and 6th in Catalonia Championship of motocross |
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2005 |
Starts in supermotard 65cc at Championship of Catalonia and Starts in miniGP 50cc |
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2006 |
Runner-up of Catalonia in miniGP 70cc and Runner-up of Catalonia in supermotard 85cc |
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2007 |
Champion of Catalonia in miniGP 70cc |
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2008 |
Runner-up at Mediterranean Championship Pre125GP |
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2009 |
Champion at Catalonian Championship of Velocity Pre125GP |
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2010 |
3rd at CEV |
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2011 |
Champion at CEV in 125cc |
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2012 |
Rookie Of The Year in Moto3 |
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2013 |
2nd in Moto3 |
Biography
Alex Rins started his relationship with motorbikes in the same way as the majority of his peers: On the dust and mud of the motocross track, aged 6. A year later he entered his first race -in the Catalonia regional championship with a KTM 50cc automatic. He participated again the following year and placed sixth, in addition to a victory in the Aragón regional series.
He soon strung together a run of titles in various categories, picking up the runner-up trophy in the Promo 70cc competition and winning the Catalonia Supermotard 85cc title in his first year of entry. He went one better in his second participation in the Promo 70cc class in 2007 and added the Promo 80cc race victory and a win in the 12 Horas de Resistencia de Vic to his CV. It was a year of many races and many visits to the top step of the podium.
Rins signed up for the Pre 125 GP class in the Campeonato de Cataluña de Velocidad and Campeonato Mediterráneo de Velocidad race series in 2008, with second place his reward in both competitions.
He continued to fight on two fronts in 2009, as part of the Monlau Competición team under the guidance of Emilio Alzamora. He won in the Catalan Pre 125 GP championship that season but was unable to take the Meditteranean title due to his missing a race. However, his strong showings provided him with an opportunity to enter the Campeonato de España de Velocidad (CEV) in 2010.
Rins debuted at CEV 125GP level with Monlau Competición onboard an Aprilia RS. Thanks to the support of his team, he claimed third place overall. It was a result that ensured his return the following season, sharing a garage with rookies Álex Márquez and Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia. All three received Repsol backing.
With the title under his belt, the Spaniard moved up to the new Grand Prix Moto3 class in 2012, again with the support of Repsol. In his first year as a World Championship rider he was impressive: Rins claimed a podium at the French GP and showed consistency in his performances. He racked up 141 points and placed fifth overall in the standings, earning the Rookie of the Year honour.
Rins has become one of the fastest riders in the class. With the experience of a full World Championship season behind him, this year he will have a new KTM machine at his disposal with which to represent Repsol over the course of the year.
The young rider began the season in brilliant form, stepping onto the podium with third place at Losail. He would do even better at the second race of the year, with a win at the new Austin circuit which marked his first victory as a Moto3 rider; the first of 6 wins he would take that season. After a crash at Jerez, Rins put together a run of four consecutive podiums consisting of second places in France, Italy and Catalonia and a third place in Holland.
In Germany and Indianapolis he again stood on the top step of the podium. The feat was repeated at Misano, Aragon and Australia. Despite a crash in Japan at the penultimate round of the season, he would still hold a chance at the title going into the final race at Valencia. The Repsol rider knew that a win would guarantee him the crown, and fought for glory right up to the final corner with eventual champion Maverick Viñales. His third place made him the runner-up in the Moto3 World Championship, with a total of 311 points to his name.
Rins begins his third Moto3 campaign in 2014, as one of the clear favorites to win the title.
