Maverick Viñales (Yamaha): «I couldn’t do anything»

When Maverick Viñales’ M1 crashed into the Airfences in Turn 1 without braking in the 17th lap and went up in flames, the Styrian GP had to be canceled in Spielberg just one week after the horror crash. Fortunately, the Yamaha works rider was uninjured after the obvious brake failure because he jumped off in time.

The race had started well for Viñales: “I got off to a good start and was pretty quick, the bike felt fantastic on the first laps. I put Dovi under pressure, but because we lack top speed, I couldn’t overtake. I did it once and thought I could go forward now, but then he just caught up with me on the straight again. I couldn’t do anything. After that I just waited to find the rhythm – but then I started to feel less pressure on the front brakes. I kept trying, went a long way and then did three very slow laps in 1:26 minutes. Then I could push again and drive 1:24 min – until the brake pressure decreased again. Quartararo, Valentino and Petrucci overtook me. Suddenly the brakes worked well again and I was able to drive 1:24 times again and catch up on Valentino and Fabio. But then the brakes suddenly failed in turn 1. It was impossible to do anything more. “

Brand colleague Fabio Quartararo complained about brake problems after the Austrian GP a week ago. Did Viñales also know the problem? “No, I’ve never had anything like it in my entire MotoGP career,” he replied firmly. “Maybe the pressure eased a bit, but then I played with the lever. Today I was busy adjusting it, corner by corner, on every lap. I couldn’t do anything. The motorcycle was impossible to stop, so I jumped off. “

Mind you at more than 200 km / h. “What should I do, I won’t stay on the bike, I jumped,” said the Spaniard. “I understood very well that the brake was broken or something happened. So I decided to jump. That’s it We lose and win together and we’ll try to come back stronger. “

In retrospect, however, the 25-year-old Yamaha works rider also admitted: “To be honest, I’ve never had the problem with the front brake. I only had it here. I should have stopped, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to finish, even to get just one point. I always give my maximum and that’s why I fell by the wayside. ”

In the World Cup table, Viñales slipped to 5th place due to the failure. The motto is therefore: “Now we have to forget these two races in Austria. It was definitely the two worst races since I’ve been in MotoGP. But we earn more, we worked hard all weekend. But if you don’t have the power, then it’s normal, you can’t overtake. I was stuck behind Dovi, but my pace would have been much faster than what I showed. ”

After Maverick was visibly frustrated a week ago, he was stressedly relaxed in today’s Zoom media panel. At least one problem has been solved: “I’m happy that the set-up we used was also good in the race. That was positive. I had an incredible feeling with the bike until the brake pressure subsided – that is, on the third or fourth lap. But I kept pushing, that’s the most important thing. ”

Above all, the prospect of another double event in Misano (September 13 and 20) and a Grand Prix in Barcelona (September 27) makes the Yamaha star confident: “We have to think positively, because now races are coming wherever we and i are very strong. We can’t lose focus because a week ago I was on pole position, this weekend I’ve always been at the top. I don’t know … We give 100 percent, that’s what we have. We can’t do more than that. You can see it in the other Yamaha riders who are struggling. Today we had a lot better pace than the other Yamahas, but what the heck. I try my best. ”

MotoGP results Styria GP:

1. Miguel Oliveira, KTM, 12 Runden, 16: 56,015 min
2. Jack Miller, Ducati, +0,316 sec
3. Pol Espargaro, KTM, + 0.540
4. Joan Mir, Suzuki, +0,641
5. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, + 1.414
6. Alex Rins, Suzuki, + 1,450
7. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +1,864
8. Brad Binder, KTM, + 4,150
9. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, + 4.517
10. Iker Lecuona, KTM, + 5,068
11. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, + 5.918
12. Aleix Espargaró, KTM, +6,411
13. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, + 7.406
14. Johann Zarco, Ducati, 7,454
15. Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha, + 10,191
16. Alex Marquez, Honda, + 10,524
17. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, + 11,447
18. Stefan Bradl, Honda, + 11,943
19. Bradley Smith, Aprilia, + 12,732
20. Michele Pirro, Ducati, + 14.349
21. Tito Rabat, Ducati, + 14,458

World Championship status after 5 of 14 races:

1. Quartararo, 70 Punkte. 2. Dovizioso 67. 3. Miller 56. 4. Binder 49. 5. Vinales 48. 6. Nakagami 46. 7. Rossi 45. 8. Mir 44. 9. Oliveira 43. 10. Pol Espargaró 35. 11. Morbidelli 32 12. Zarco 30. 13. Kidneys 29. 14. Petrucci 25. 15. Alex Márquez 15. 16. Aleix Espargaró 15. 17. Lecuona 13. 18. Bagnaia 9. 19. Smith 8. 20. Rabat 7. 21. Crutchlow 7. 22. Pyrrhus 4.

Constructors’ championship after 5 of 14 races:

1. Yamaha 88. 2. Ducati 87. 3. KTM 82. 4. Suzuki 57. 5. Honda 46. 6. Aprilia 20.

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