Alex Rins is leaving MotoGP at the end of the 2026 season and calling time on two-wheel racing. Fans immediately went back to the races that made him special, from his Suzuki wins to the incredible COTA victory on the Honda. But alongside the praise came the same question from many fans: what could Rins have achieved if things had gone differently?
“I’ll miss him. He was an incredible watch when he was on. Loved his riding style,” one fan wrote.
That feeling came through strongly when fans brought up Rins’ 2019 Silverstone win over Marc Márquez. One called it “one of my peak pulse moments” from watching MotoGP. Moreover, another said the final-corner pass was “genuinely insane.” A fan who was actually sitting at the finish line that day described it as “spine-tingling.”
His Suzuki victories at Phillip Island and Valencia in 2022 also got plenty of love. Then came the COTA win in 2023, when Rins took an unlikely victory on the LCR Honda.
“The Rins Bakery is shutting down,” one fan joked, “but they cooked some amazing cookies over the years.”
Another fan kept it even simpler: “His COTA win was peak, loved the riding style.”
There were also fans who felt Rins deserved much more than the six wins he eventually collected. “Of all the riders leaving, I feel most sorry for him because so much of his decline was out of his control,” one wrote, pointing to Suzuki leaving, uncompetitive bikes, and his serious injury.
However, not everyone looked back at his career through rose-colored glasses.“Rins was the most frustrating rider to watch for me,” one fan admitted. “He would be running podium position and about to score solid points only to go gravel surfing in the blink of an eye.”
Another fan argued that Rins could have finished second in the 2019 championship if he had simply brought the bike home more often. The same fan acknowledged why Rins kept taking those risks: “That kind of daring gave him Silverstone, so I get why he kept riding like that.”
Qualifying was another complaint. One fan pointed out that poor starting positions often forced Rins to spend races recovering instead of simply banking points.
The injury remains a major part of the story too. “The injury really screwed him,” one fan wrote. Another put it bluntly: “Honda claims another career.”
Alex Rins Leaving MotoGP and What Comes Next
Rins had two WorldSBK opportunities available but has decided against making the move. “I will not go to Superbike next year,” he said. “I had two possibilities there… But I found another thing that really motivates me more.”
Rins has not revealed exactly what that project is because it is not finished yet. After roughly 14 years in MotoGP, he leaves with six Grand Prix wins and 18 podiums. His career included major Suzuki victories, the 2023 COTA shocker with LCR Honda and a serious leg injury at Mugello that disrupted the next stage of his career.
Reports have pointed toward four-wheel racing for his next chapter, although the exact program has not been announced. Rins has made one thing clear himself: “I will stop with two wheels.”
Also Read: Best MotoGP Riders of All Time
For some fans, Rins was the rider who could produce a Silverstone 2019 or a COTA 2023 and make everyone forget the mistakes for a while. For others, those same mistakes are exactly why the phrase “what if” follows his career.
