Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales was upbeat despite the penalty mistake in Americas MotoGP race which cost him a possible podium finish.
For once Vinales did not lose a position at the start of a MotoGP race at Circuit of The Americas but to the Spaniard’s bad luck, the stewards awarded him a ride through penalty after it was found that he made a jump start along with Suzuki’s Joan Mir.
The replays showed a slight movement – similar to LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow’s movement in Argentina which was same for Mir too in America. It was enough to warrant the penalty, even though the riders did not overly benefited through it.
It was all fine until he was given a ride through penalty but a mistake in understanding saw Vinales serve the Long Gap Penalty instead, which he realised after repeated ride through signs board from the Yamaha pit crew and also warnings from the stewards.
He eventually took the penalty much to his disappointment. He did fight back to finish 11th but certainly had a chance to be on the podium like Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, who fought hard with Suzuki’s Alex Rins but couldn’t get the victory.
While acknowledging the mistake, the Yamaha rider tried to take the positives out of the weekend, especially on the pace side and also his start. “I misunderstood the penalty a little bit,” said Vinales after the race. “It’s a big mistake.
“I didn’t understand the dashboard very well, but I didn’t have much time to read it. I thought that with the long lap penalty, I was ok, but then I saw ride through again, and then I entered the pit-lane.
“I first did one, that in reality wasn’t a long lap, because I went wide, but on the next lap, I did it well. On the grid, I got a little bit hot and the clutch was engaged and it started the bike. Already I knew I did a jump start and I was waiting for the penalty.
“Overall, it was a good start as I gained some positions before arriving at the first corner and overtook some riders. And after the ride through I was feeling good, we were in good lap times, I didn’t expect the pace we had.
“I could ride really easily in 2m04s. We found a good setup for the race, but we just need to keep working and especially find the best system to start.” With only two points finishes, Vinales finds himself only 12th in the standings with just 14 to his name.
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