Maverick Viñales had a mixed weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix. While he had shown great promise in qualifying, the race was much more delicate. An incident on the first lap and a fall put a premature end to his hopes. However, the Spaniard remains determined to get back to winning ways. We will have to closely follow the next races to see if Aprilia manages to resolve the problems with its bike.
The Japanese Grand Prix 2024 did not live up to expectations for Maverick Viñaleswho was forced to abandon the race after an already difficult start. Despite starting from the front row thanks to an exciting qualification, the driver Aprilia quickly saw his hopes of a podium disappear in the first turns.
Vinales lost several positions from the first turn after contact with another competitor, immediately complicating his race. The misfortune continued when he ended up crashing on the 12th lap, ending his day.
« We suffered in this match, it was difficult to defend myself from opposing attacks,” said Vinalesvisibly disappointed. He adds: “ I want to maintain the feeling of qualificationswhere we managed to express the motorcycle’s potential to the maximum. » This frustration contrasts with the optimism at the start of the weekend, where he brilliantly placed his bike on the front row, demonstrating a promising pace during testing.
Pour Vinalesthis weekend reminded him of the ups and downs he has experienced this season with
Aprilia. Indeed, he highlights the difficulties he faces: “ I don’t even know how I managed to get the bike on the front line, then we went back to the normal feeling of the whole weekend, in pain, especially difficult to defend. »
Maverick Viñales: « the victory in Austin was a miracle »
Looking back on previous races, including his strong performance in Austin, Vinales remains perplexed: “ the victory in Austin was a miracle. We arrived in Jerez, and it was a disaster. » This blatant contrast between the circuits shows the current weaknesses of the RS-GP, which results in particular in a lack of regularity.
Vinales now hopes to draw a line under this weekend and turn to the rest of the Asian calendar.
Phillip Island is indeed one of his next steps where he plans to perform. “ I know Mandalika and Phillip Island are my chances,
now it’s time to try to forget this one as quickly as possible and concentrate on the next one,” he specifies, confident for the next GPs.
Finally, Maverick Viñales highlights the technical challenges, particularly in terms of braking. “ It’s hot and especially behind the motorbikes, it’s very difficult to stop,” he explains, adding that he had to ask a lot of his front brake, making the task even more difficult in the hot conditions of Motegi.
The rest of the season promises to be tense for
Vinales et
Apriliawho are still looking to find consistency and significant improvement to hope to compete with the best teams.
MotoGP, Japan J3: classification
