Alex Rins Receives Death Threats: What Really Happened at the Trackside

• After a crash in free practice at Mandalika, Rins gave a track marshal the middle finger
• The FIM stewards spoke to him, but no penalty was issued
• Afterwards he received messages referring to death and violence

All Alex Rins wanted on Friday at Mandalika was to get back to his garage. After a crash shortly before the end of free practice, however, the Yamaha rider ended up in a heated argument with several track marshals. In the end, he gave one of them the middle finger. The scene was filmed and spread quickly online. Rins apologised, but still received threats afterwards. For Yamaha, the Indonesian Grand Prix was yet another difficult weekend in the 2026 season. It is the first season with the new V4 engine, after the manufacturer replaced its well-known crossplane inline-four.

What happened between Alex Rins and the track marshal at Mandalika?

Alex Rins crashed at the final corner on Friday afternoon shortly before the end of free practice and accepted a lift from a track marshal on a scooter. Instead of taking him to the garage, the marshal dropped him off along the way. An argument followed, and Rins gave him the middle finger.

The reason Rins needed the scooter at all is a new MotoGP rule. If the engine stalls in a crash, the rider is no longer allowed to restart the bike right at the side of the track. He first has to reach an emergency exit. With only two minutes remaining, it was no longer possible for Rins to fire up his Yamaha again and rejoin the session.

A video posted by an Indonesian motorcycle influencer shows Rins sitting on the back of a marshal’s scooter. Shortly afterwards, a heated discussion breaks out with other marshals. Rins gets off, gives the middle finger and eventually rides back with a photographer. He did not mention the incident in his media session after practice.

Why didn’t the marshal take Alex Rins to the garage?

According to Rins, the marshal did not want to drive him all the way to the garage and wanted him to get into a car instead. Rins himself does not know the exact reason.

On Saturday after the Sprint, he described the sequence of events in detail. After his crash, two or three marshals were standing by with scooters. They argued about who should take him. Rins climbed on with one of them. The marshal rode with him across the start-finish straight and then left him standing there. Rins was supposed to get into a car instead. He insisted on being taken to the garage. Two other marshals also told their colleague to do so, but he kept refusing.

“And then in this nervous moment, I gave him the finger. I apologised, because it’s not a good sign”, says Rins. He points out that young fans are watching and describes himself as very stressed in that moment.

At one point it was reported that the marshal was not allowed to leave his post because he was carrying a fire extinguisher. Rins disputes this: “It was a regular scooter.” The marshal did not want him to ride through the tunnel to the garage. “Maybe he was doing his job, but it was the first time that the marshal didn’t bring me to the box”, says Rins.

Was Alex Rins penalised for the gesture?

No, Alex Rins was not penalised. The FIM stewards, the race officials of the world motorcycling federation, spoke to him after the incident but left it at that conversation.

In the stewards’ notes from Friday evening, the incident did not initially appear as an investigation. Rins reports a brief exchange in which the stewards were surprised as well. “It was just a misunderstanding. Sure, it’s the first time it happened. The stewards were surprised also. Strange.”

This outcome was not a given. The MotoGP stewards take disrespectful behaviour towards marshals seriously. This season, Marco Bezzecchi was excluded from the race at the Czech Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider had hit a marshal in the gravel trap after crashing in the Sprint. Rins’ teammate Fabio Quartararo received a fine in 2025 and had to sit out ten minutes of the first free practice session at Silverstone. He had confronted a marshal at the French Grand Prix. A few weeks earlier, he had got away with a verbal warning for similar behaviour at the Spanish Grand Prix.

What threats did Alex Rins receive after the incident?

Alex Rins received messages on social media that referred to death and violence. He made this public on Saturday afternoon in a statement on Twitter, in which he also apologised for his gesture.

In it, he first explains what happened from his point of view: “I want to clarify what happened yesterday after my crash. 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. I apologise for my gesture. It wasn’t right, especially knowing that young fans are watching us. I have a lot of respect for the marshals and the work they do.”

Then he gets clear: “However, I’ve also received some very serious comments, including references to death and violence. I understand why people are upset by my reaction, but threats and abuse should never be acceptable. We can all make mistakes, and I take responsibility for mine.”

There was initially no official statement from MotoGP on the messages sent to Rins.

How common are threats against riders in motorsport?

Rins is not an isolated case. In both Formula 1 and MotoGP, riders and drivers have been at the centre of online hate campaigns in recent months.

In Formula 1 in 2026, Franco Colapinto’s Argentinian fan base drew attention on several occasions. His Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly reported that his family and girlfriend received death threats after an incident at the Spanish Grand Prix. Lando Norris was abused after saying that Colapinto did not deserve his place in Formula 1 and should have been banned for a race after a collision in Azerbaijan. Earlier in the season, Esteban Ocon received threats after a collision with Colapinto in China. Colapinto himself was also targeted after an incident with Ollie Bearman at the Japanese Grand Prix.

MotoGP has seen such cases too. In October 2025, Marc Marquez had to calm his own fans. At the time, Marco Bezzecchi was subjected to massive abuse after colliding with Marquez, leaving the world champion injured. The championships have few options to tackle this. Beyond blocking accounts that want to follow certain pages, they have hardly any effective tools at their disposal.

What does Alex Rins say after the race at Mandalika?

After Sunday’s race, Alex Rins wanted to put the matter to rest. He hopes the marshal has apologised as well, but does not want to spend any more time on it.

He told journalists: “Was a big chaos. Nothing to say. I already apologised. I hope, I hope, that the marshal also apologised because it was a really extreme situation. But I mean, we don’t need to lose time on this. And that’s all.”

On the sporting side, things did not go well for the six-time MotoGP race winner either. In the 27-lap race, Rins finished 15th, 31.6 seconds behind the winner. He says the bike felt bad from the very first lap, completely different from Friday and Saturday. According to him, the engine braking, meaning the braking effect of the engine when closing the throttle, worked inconsistently. The same applied to the traction control. On top of that came overheating tyres, a familiar problem according to Rins.

He had actually wanted to run the soft tyre after the warm-up. However, his team strongly advised him against it. Rins followed the advice and stands by the decision: “I don’t regret it. We are a team. What I regret is the bike that we have.”

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