RINS RECEIVES DEATH THREATS AFTER INDONESIAN GP MARSHAL INCIDENT

Alex Rins was involved in a tense exchange with marshals after crashing during Friday afternoon practice at the Indonesian Grand Prix, with video appearing to show the Yamaha rider raising his middle finger at the group.

The crash came with about two minutes remaining in the session. Under MotoGP’s rules, a rider whose engine stops after a crash cannot restart the bike at the trackside and must take it to an escape road. With little time left, Rins was unable to get back on track.

Footage shared on social media by Indonesian motorcycle influencer @_dewinv shows Rins riding back towards the paddock on the back of a marshal’s scooter. Two other marshals appear to stop them, prompting a heated exchange. Rins later said two or three marshals were offering to take him back, with some telling him to go with them and others disagreeing. He said he boarded one scooter, which took him along the main straight before leaving him there. Rins said he asked to be taken to the team garage, but was told to get into a car. He disputed a suggestion that the marshal could not take him further because he was carrying a fire extinguisher, saying it was “a regular scooter”.

Rins said the marshal did not want him to go through the tunnel and into the garage. “I don’t know. Maybe he was doing his job, but it was the first time that the marshal didn’t bring me to the box,” he said.

In the tense moment, Rins gestured with his middle finger towards the group and then left with a photographer. “I gave him the finger. I apologised, because it’s not a good sign,” he said. “The young fans are looking at us; it’s not a good sign [to do]. But I was really stressed.”

Rins did not address the incident in his media debrief after practice, but spoke about it on Saturday after the sprint. He described the episode as a misunderstanding and said he had a brief conversation with the FIM stewards. “It was just a misunderstanding. Sure, it’s the first time it happened. The stewards were surprised also. Strange.” He has not been penalised.

On Saturday afternoon, Rins also posted an apology and explanation on social media. He said: “There was a misunderstanding with a marshal when I was trying to get back to the box. It was a stressful moment, and I reacted in a way that I shouldn’t have.” He added that he respected marshals and took responsibility for his actions, but revealed he had received “some very serious comments, including references to death and violence”. Rins said he understood why people were upset, but stressed that “threats and abuse should never be acceptable”.

The episode comes amid recent disciplinary action in MotoGP over conduct towards marshals. Earlier this year, Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi was suspended from the Czech Grand Prix after striking a marshal in the gravel following a sprint crash. Rins’ Yamaha team-mate Fabio Quartararo was fined and given a 10-minute suspension from FP1 at Silverstone in 2025 after abusing a marshal at the French Grand Prix. Quartararo had also been warned verbally after a similar incident at the Spanish Grand Prix a few weeks earlier.