Although it was the best year for some riders, it is also the worse for MotoGP rider Alex Rins. The Number 42 rider began his 2022 season with three top-five finishes. However, his form was distorted shortly after Suzuki announced stopping its MotoGP operations after the 2022 season.
Speaking about the injury, Alex fractured his left wrist at the Catalan Grand Prix. It kept him from competing in the German GP after two weeks. When he returned at the Dutch Grand Prix, he reeled off five consecutive top-10 finishes. Rins became fortunate at the Japanese GP for a short time. However, a mechanical error forced him to capitulate Suzuki’s final home round.
Despite all this, Rins finished the race strongly. During the final three races of the 2022 season, he won twice and even finished in the top five. All this he did when he for suffering from compartment syndrome. Impressive, Right?
Compartment syndrome is known as an ‘arm pump,’ and occurs when chronic pressure builds in the rider’s forearm due to heavy braking forces.
Moreover, while the 2023 MotoGP pre-season tests are two months away, Rins underwent compartment syndrome surgery at Madrid’s Ruber Clinic on December 2, 2022.
Through his Instagram post, Rins announced undergoing the surgery and being 100 per cent perfect for the next year. His post captioned, ‘Small surgery today to be at 100% for the next year. We’ve got some work to do.’
Rins is also not exaggerating the last point. 2023 will be his sixth year in MotoGP and his first ride abroad on a non-Suzuki machine. So, while joining the project, he will have to adapt his riding style and his recently operated arm.