Maverick Viñales started sixth for an Austrian race which he finished sixth. However, the Suzuki official did not deal with current affairs. He tried to force fate and even thought of a podium. Then, after ten laps of racing, his GSX-RR brought him back to his senses.
« It's the most we could do ". This is the verdict of a Maverick Vinales which we take at his word given his performance. In the company of the contenders for victory at the start of the event, he showed what he was capable of before giving up just like Marc Márquez. He then stayed with the double World Champion with the idea of stealing his top 5 with a view to the finish. But his tires decided otherwise.
« I tried to follow the leading group from the start, and I succeeded » comments the one who will have a Yamaha in 2017. « I felt good in the first laps and able to fight for the podium. But on the eleventh lap, I had to slow down, like Marc. We could no longer follow. The bike became difficult to ride, it skidded a lot when accelerating. I tried to save my tires for last, thinking of attacking Márquez on the brakes. But ultimately, the tires had suffered too much ».
That said, he doesn’t break his Suzuki too much: “ I think finishing 14 seconds behind the winner on a stop and go type track which doesn't suit our bike at all is not so bad. We have done our job well although we cannot be happy with the result because we want more ". Will this plus be in the Czech Republic in a week? “ I had a good race there last year, fighting against Pol Espargaró and Bradley Smith for seventh place. I'm going there with confidence because it's a good track. I think we will perform well there ».
His teammate Aleix Espargaro was forced to throw in the towel three laps from the goal, having gone to the end of the suffering with his fractured finger on his left hand. In the championship, Casa Particular in Viñales is fifth in the championship with 93 points. He is pursued by Iannone which now has 88 and remains a threat to Pedrosa who has so far collected 105.
