Ride Height Woes: Vinales’ Podium Hopes Dashed in Motegi MotoGP Sprint

Maverick Vinales faces setback due to ride height device malfunction in Motegi MotoGP sprint

Aprilia racer misses chance to take advantage of front row start in Japan sprint race

Maverick Vinales stated that his performance in the sprint race at the Japanese Grand Prix was hindered because the front ride height mechanism on his Aprilia MotoGP motorcycle failed to disengage at the beginning of the race.

Throughout the weekend at Motegi, the Aprilia rider has shown impressive performance, which he maintained during qualifying by securing the third position on the grid with his RS-GP.

However, he was unable to activate his launch device for the first corner, causing him to fall from third to tenth place in the initial turns as the surrounding riders overtook him.

This influenced his race, with Vinales managing to climb back up to ninth place, the last spot that earns points, by the time he crossed the finish line.

At the beginning of the race, he mentioned that he forgot to deactivate the front device, which caused him to drop several places.

"Although Sunday brings a fresh race, I remain hopeful. During qualifying, I pulled off something special, and I aim to replicate that performance in the main race as well."

Aleix Espargaro, who started in 15th position, managed to climb to the edge of the top 10. He attributed his speed to using a bike setup similar to that of his teammate, Vinales.

Being stuck in the group caused Espargaro's front tire pressure to increase, leading to his crash on the 10th lap of the 12-lap race.

He mentioned that his performance in the sprint race had gotten somewhat better.

"I experimented with a new configuration that closely resembled Maverick's. It was effective, and I felt at ease with it."

"Actually, I was on my way back, but the temperature and the pressure in the front tire increased significantly."

"At that moment, it became very difficult to control the bike, and the front wheel seized, causing me to fall at Turn 1."

Former Aprilia technical director, Romano Albesiano, commented that Maverick's third-place finish in the qualifying round boosted their confidence.

"It's unfortunate about the beginning and the initial scrum, as Maverick had the capability to secure a strong finish in the sprint race."

Aleix significantly improved his performance during the sprint race, allowing him to gain multiple positions and nearly catch up to the group that included Maverick.

"It's unfortunate that the accident happened with only two laps remaining. During the extended race, we'll get another opportunity to show what we can do."

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