After Suzuki’s MotoGP withdrawal at the end of last season, Rins landed at the LCR Honda squad while former team-mate Joan Mir became Marc Marquez’s team-mate at the factory Honda squad.
Despite racing for the satellite squad, Rins is directly contracted to Honda and his initial agreement expires at the end of 2024, but it does include a clause that could allow him to leave early if he was offered a factory deal elsewhere.
As Autosport has learned, Yamaha has approached Rins as an option to replace Franco Morbidelli, after the Italian's performances have not convinced Yamaha to retain him.
But what isn’t helping Rins is he is out of action due to a serious leg break suffered in the Italian MotoGP sprint race at Mugello. He has undergone two operations and his return schedule remains unclear but he is unlikely to be fit for the first race after the summer break, the British GP on 4-6 August.
If Rins was to split from Honda, it would lose the rider who has achieved its best result in 2023, with the Spaniard taking victory at the United States round in April.
It was also in the United States where Rins expressed his dissatisfaction with Honda’s treatment, overlooking him to test new parts: “I notice that Honda has little support for me, I feel wasted," he said back in April.
Source: Autosport