Vinales blames himself for poor start - “It’s my responsibility, all on me”

Maverick Vinales cost himself the chance of scoring points during the MotoGP Sprint at COTA following a woeful launch off the line.

Robert Jones

16 Apr 2023

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia MotoGP COTA 2023

Vinales was immediately swamped by Jack Miller as he failed to get the desired start, before continuing to drop as the lap went on. The factory Aprilia rider started the MotoGP Sprint in eighth but was down to 19th come the conclusion on lap one.

Fast all weekend in terms of race pace, Vinales put together an impressive comeback although it wasn’t enough to score points.

Speaking to MotoGP.com, Vinales said: "It’s my responsibility to improve the starts. It’s all on me. The team is trying to give me help and the best but I don’t have the feeling with the clutch to start well.

"Then, when you are at the back it is so complicated because you fight and fight - in the end I recover a lot of places and it’s true that I have been growing a lot with the lap times even though I was with traffic and was riding decently.

"Overall, I think we have potential but we just need to put everything together. We will achieve it. We are all working on it."

Pushed further on his start drama, Vinales admitted he and the team will try to make adjustments in order to get him feeling more comfortable.

"Of course, we are going to try and do something,” added the former Yamaha and Suzuki rider. “It’s something that is my responsibility and I will improve it. It’s all on me."

Rins feeling the difference between Suzuki and Honda MotoGP bike

Alex Rins, Sprint race, Grand Prix of the Americas, 15 April

One of the stars of the show throughout Saturday was LCR Honda rider Alex Rins. Second in qualifying, Rins replicated that finishing position after attempting to fight race winner Francesco Bagnaia early on.

And although it was a great performance, Rins is still lacking the feeling in slow-speed corners that the Suzuki was giving him.

Rins added: "We did a really great day on the qualifying and the Sprint race. I gave my maximum and I tried to overtake Pecco as soon as possible because I knew he had a really good pace.

"I tried to ride on my own but then he overtook me and in corner 12 I went fully straight. With these high temperatures it was difficult to not have locking on the front and not go straight.

"For sure, this bike is not the same as the ones I was riding the last few years. What I can say is that on the chicanes, this one is more demanding."