MotoGP: Suzuki bike destroyed in pit lane fire

One of Alex Rins’ Suzuki GSX-RR MotoGP machines has been destroyed in a pit lane fire ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian grand Prix at Sepang, after catching fire while mechanics were warming it up this afternoon.

Caused by a fuel overflow pipe accidentally spraying fuel onto a hot exhaust while the team were doing their customary post-build start-up of the bike on Thursday afternoon. Eventually extinguished by the crew, the bike was severely damaged in the blaze.

However, while it should make for a busy night for his mechanics as they start the long process of building a new bike, it shouldn’t affect the Spaniard’s weekend too much. Carrying enough spare parts to rebuild multiple machines over the weekend, Suzuki’s only concern will be if there is damage to the engine – but with Suzuki enjoying concessions at the minute, Rins still has one of his nine powerplants untouched with only two races remaining.