Rins Confirms MotoGP Exit, Trades Two Wheels For Four

Álex Rins is done with motorcycle racing. On the eve of the San Marino Grand Prix, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider confirmed he will leave MotoGP at the end of 2026, but ruled out a rumored move to the World Superbike Championship. Instead, Rins will step away from two-wheeled competition entirely and pursue a project on four wheels instead.

The rumors had been building at Magny-Cours, and Rins cleared them up himself during Thursday's media scrum at Misano. Discussions with Go Eleven reportedly fell through, and rather than chase a Plan B in WSBK racing, the 30-year-old Spaniard went a different direction entirely.

"I will not go to Superbike next year," Rins said. "I had two possibilities there. I really want to say thanks to them because they were quite interested in me. But I found another thing that really motivates me more." He added that he can't reveal the new project yet because negotiations are still on-going but hinted that it would be on four wheels instead of two.

"I'm really happy. For sure it was difficult to choose, because all my life in MotoGP, in this championship, many fights, many races, many wins," says Rins. "14 years, more or less. So yeah, I will stop with two wheels."

Rins didn't slam the door completely on bikes. He floated the idea of a limited return in the vein of Cal Crutchlow.

The decision closes a Grand Prix run that began in Moto3 in 2012. Rins finished runner-up in both Moto3 and Moto2 before moving to the premier class with Suzuki in 2017, where he earned five MotoGP wins and 18 podiums. A move to LCR Honda in 2023 delivered a victory in his third race at the Americas GP before a serious Mugello leg injury wrecked his season. His three years with Yamaha have coincided with the M1's decline; he currently sits 20th in the 2026 championship standings.

With Rins out and Fabio Quartararo bound for Honda, Yamaha will line up Jorge Martín and Ai Ogura in 2027.

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