Suzuki confirms Alex Rins for 2016 MotoGP

The 20-year-old Spaniard will join Andrea Iannone in the factory Suzuki squad, the new pair replacing Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro, "Alex Rins is a young rider who has already proven to have much talent, always fighting within the top positions of the World Championship, making him the type of rider who we want to support for the future," said Suzuki team manager Davide Brivio.

 

"To pair Andrea Iannone, an experienced rider, with such a young talent as Alex creates a perfect combination for our challenge. We believe that the combination of these two riders, together with the further development of the Suzuki GSX-RR, can help us to create a strong team to compete at the maximum level."

 

After Round 8 at Assen, Rins jointly leads the Moto2 championship with Johann Zarco, both riders on 126 points, with Sam Lowes on 121 points.

 

Zarco, last year's Moto2 champion, had been rumoured for the Suzuki seat, and even conducted a private test of the GSX-RR MotoGP bike earlier this month, but now seems likely to join Jonas Folger at Tech3 Yamaha next year.