When Alex Rins climbed from seventh to third on the opening lap of the Ame﷽ricas MotoGP, he looked in with a f𒁏ighting chance of back-to-back COTA wins.

But the Suzuki rider soon hit traction problems out of th🌱e 🥃slow corners and was hustled back to sixth by the middle stages.

The Spaniard retaliated by passing the Ducatis of Jack Miller and Jorge Martin during the second half of the race, and fourth equalled his best result of the season after of the Silvers🅺tone podium, but it had been a struggle.

"It was a very very difficult race for me. I struggled a lot, because exiting from the corners we were losing a lot o🍰f time. I don't know if it was because of the rear traction, the aerodynamic package, or what," Rins explained.

"I couldn't fight. I couldn't hold an overtake, at least during the first metres on the straight. Then on the fast corners, we were able to ride quite well, but we were losing a lot exiting from th🐎e slow corners…

"I was trying to survive, because of the tract✨𒆙ion issues and the bumps."

Rins was unsure if an altern💛ative rear tyre choice may have been better.

“We chose ﷽the soft rear, like everybod𓂃y else, because it seemed to be the best option to enter the fight with the same weapons," he said.

"In the end it’s hard to tell whether another cho💝ice may have worked better, but I’m glad I was able to get fourth - it’s not so bad and I could bring home some nice points.”

With Rins' team-mate and reigning champion Joan Mir finishing the race in seventh, which became eighth after a penalty for contact with Miller, Suzuki now has just three races left to clai꧙m a race win this season.

“It was good thaඣt both riders could finish, and not in bad positions, but we wanted more," said Suzuki technical manager Ken Kawauchi. "We weren’t able to fight for the podium here, which was a pity, especially given our past performances at COTA.

"It’s clear that we need to contin🍒ue working. We’ll keep our heads down and pu﷽sh for the remaining rounds.”

Suzuki, which won the riders' and teams' titles last season, is currently third in the 2021 riders' (Mಌir), teams' and constructors' standings.

Rins - who like Mir, won one race last year - is twelfth in the world championship ไbut within 23 points of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) in eighth with a potential 75 points still to be decid⛎ed.