Alex Rins says a “more calm” approach following a run early-season crashes helped him to stay in the lead battle for much of the MotoGP Dutch TT, in which he finished second.
The Suzuki rider was a dark horse for a title tilt prior to the start of the season, following a strong showing throughout the winter tests.
But three crashes from the first four races while running inside the top eight saw him drop considerably from the title leaders.
Adamant that the speed has always been there, Rins says he tried to stay “more calm” for the Assen race, and feels the updated engine Suzuki brought for the Dutch round will make the remaining races “great” for the Spaniard.
“Since Qatar, we are going very fast in all the tracks,” said Rins, whose career-best MotoGP finish elevates him to 11th in the standings.
“I was able to ride with the front group in a lot of tracks, but I did small mistakes and I was crashing.
“Now I try to keep more calm, especially on the this track. Suzuki bring a new engine with a bit more speed, especially on the top, that helps us a little bit on the straight.
“That's all. I think all the races coming will be great for us, I will try to give my best in every race.
“We know that on Friday we suffer a little bit, but I will try to be at the front in as many races as I can.”
Rins made several daring moves on riders at the Strubben hairpin during the 26-lap race, including one on eventual race winner Marc Marquez which almost caused the Honda rider to crash.
The Suzuki riders says he “felt great” at the moment he decided to pass Marquez, and thought “why not?”
“Was incredible, because two or three laps before I overtake Marc I saw he was very strong on that corner, and I was feeling great, and I think why not?
“So I release the brakes and I overtake him, but on the next lap he overtook me.
“So I was saying 'wow, this will be a fantastic race'. Also in the end with Maverick [Vinales], and with every rider, [Andrea] Dovizioso as well, I enjoy it a lot.”
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