Rins feared bike ‘explosion’ in ‘gruesome’ Indonesia MotoGP fire incident

The 30-minute FP4 session before qualifying was stopped just under seven minutes when Rins was forced to leave his GSX-RR after it burst into flames.

The three-time MotoGP race winner’s bike had a minor fire on Tour 10 before deteriorating as it tore down Tour 12, at which point it pulled over and gave up on the Suzuki.

A cleaning operation had to be undertaken by the marshals for oil, which was left by Rins’ bike on the track, with Johann Zarco of Pramac – who qualified third – on the 10th.

Undeterred in the incident, Rins explains that there was a problem with a pipe carrying oil and admits that the moment was “gruesome”.

“There was a problem with the pipe where the oil was going, they had already checked,” Rins, who is starting eighth, asked Motorsport.com to explain his FP4 fire.

“But honestly Corner 10 I had a little butt creepy moment, slip. Then I looked at my boots, at the tire [for oil]but everything was under control.

“I kept pushing and right in the next corner I lost it [the rear] again and I go off the track for my safety and the safety of others.

“Then, when I looked at the bike, I saw all the fire and it was a horrible moment, because what went through my mind, ‘Alex, jump’, because maybe the bike explodes.

“So, it was not a good moment.”

We are “out of balance” in difficult qualification

Rins team-mate Joan Mir had a miserable qualifier in Indonesia, after a crash towards the end of a nasty Q1 he left in 18th place – his worst starting place since the Emilia Romagna GP last year.

Speaking about his day, he told Mir that he could not find a good setup and was “really on the limit”.

“It was a really, really difficult day for us,” he began. “It seems like we are not able to find a good framework and the one on which I can feel a little more comfortable, I ride really, really on the border.

“We are not strong. We fight a lot, so we have to keep trying to get better. It’s hard.”

A major change this weekend is the reopening of a 2018 tire house to better manage the extreme heat in Mandalika.

This has caused problems for some riders, most notably Hondas, with Mir admitting that he has brought “less grip everywhere” with the tires in Indonesia and is not sure if he will finish the race at all – but is not sure whether his grip is bad are specifically down to the old casing.

“I do not know if it is the new housing or the track with the new casing,” he added to Mir when asked by Motorsport.com how the new casing will affect him.

“In Qatar, I always complained about the grip, so with this tire, we have less grip everywhere: going into the corners and the exit.

“Now I’m in a situation that going into the corners is something I can not do with the right speed.

“Then I have to use the front more, and then I have all the great moments I had today. So, we’re a little bit out of balance and we have to find the way.

“I will not be able to ride under these conditions to finish the race.

“Honestly, I mean, I’ll crash because I’m also riding on the limit every corner and so it’s really easy to make a mistake. So, it’s going to be really, really hard if it does not improve. So, I expect we can improve, because if not it will be very difficult.