With just three races left of 2022, Alex Rins provided the perfect present on Sunday as Suzuki Ecstar prepares to bow out of MotoGP, victory at Phillip Island. And what a way to do it.
After an epic island classic and four rider duel which went down to the wire Rins had both new series leader Pecco Bagnaia and eight-time world champion Marc Marquez firmly on his wheels.
Just over two tenths covered the entirety of the podium after 27 laps of the unique circuit with seven riders within a second of the Spaniard at the chequered flag.
Completing a successful set, the 26-year-old has now claimed an Australian victory in every Grand Prix class, after his 2013 and 2015 wins in Moto3 and Moto2 respectively. “Sincerely I’m so happy to get the victory here, Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP and also we deserved this one!” Rins said on Sunday after launching from tenth on the grid to claim the overall trophy. “We worked quite hard to get it. “During the race was not that easy.