MotoGP: Viñales shrugs off mystery crash

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP racer Maverick Viñales has shrugged off the mystery crash that brought an end to his chances of making it three wins out of three during Sunday’s American Grand Prix in Texas.

The Spaniard crashed out early in the race, and admitted afterwards that he wasn’t sure what exactly had gone wrong – but wasn’t allowing that fact to sit heavily on his mind as he regroups to take the title fight to Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez next time out at Jerez.

“It was a really strange crash. I did exactly the same as in warmup and all weekend, but I crashed. I think we had some issues with the front tyre, but anyway, we know that we are strong and that we have the speed. We can be strong again, so I‘m going to try to forget this crash and come to Jerez even faster, stronger and more consistent than I was here.”

His sentiments were echoed by team boss Massimo Meregalli, who admitted that the team were unable to find anything different about the lap that the former championship leader crashed out on.

“It was very unfortunate that Maverick‘s race ended early because, judging by the pace he displayed all weekend, he would certainly have been able to challenge for the victory. We have checked the data and there‘s nothing strange or different from what he has done since Friday. The front closed without any warning and he could not do anything to save it. It‘s a great pity because he was really confident on the bike, so we take that away from this race weekend as a positive. We‘re certain he will come back strong in Spain in two weeks‘ time.”