Maverick Vinales reveals cause of Catalunya MotoGP sprint DNF
Maverick Vinales says his sprint race at the Catalunya MotoGP was ruined due to a rear brake issue.
Maverick Vinales has revealed the cause behind his Catalunya MotoGP sprint DNF, which cost him valuable track time on his return from injury.
After being sidelined since the United States Grand Prix, meaning Vinales also missed the Jerez and Le Mans rounds, the former Suzuki, Yamaha and Aprilia rider made his return on Friday.
But after qualifying in 17th place, Vinales’ sprint race was over before it really got started, after the Spaniard began suffering from rear brake issues on the warm-up lap.
That led to oil “spilling out”, according to Vinales, which ultimately led to his retirement.
Speaking after the race, Vinales said: “After just two or three corners on the warm-up lap, I started to lose the rear brake – oil was spilling out and, in the end, it was impossible to keep my foot on the footrest.
“That was a shame because I want to do a lot of laps, but physically, I felt quite good and there was no inflammation or strange feeling in my shoulder like I had before.
“Obviously, I need to build up strength, and the best way to do that is more time on the bike.”
Vinales had been out of action since COTA after undergoing corrective surgery to remove a damaged screw, originally inserted into his shoulder last July.
Meanwhile, Vinales’ team-mate Enea Bastianini finished the Catalunya MotoGP sprint in tenth, following a battle with Ai Ogura in the closing stages.
Bastianini was passed by the Trackhouse rider with two laps to go, but when he tried to mount an attack on the final lap, a mistake at turn seven allowed Marco Bezzecchi to swoop past.
Bastianini added: “To be honest, the problem was qualifying. I was competitive in Q1 but also a bit unlucky, because I caught two consecutive yellow flags in turn five.
“In the race, my pace was good again and I gained some ground, but by the time we got to the last two laps, I’d destroyed the tyres.
“Ogura came down the inside which pushed me wide. I tried to stay close to him to re-attack over the last part of the lap, but I lost the front-end in turn seven and went wide again, which allowed Bezzecchi to get back past.”
