Maverick Viñales confirmed his competitive streak once again at the Phillip Island circuit on Saturday, coming in second in FP2 on a wet track. In the Q2, conditions had dried out, and he pulled off an excellent time-attack, securing third position on the grid, and the second consecutive front row after Motegi. In the sprint, Viñales dropped a few places on the first lap, but managed to stay in the fight for the top five. However, with just two laps to go, the Spanish rider was rear-ended as he approached the first corner, just after overtaking into fifth position.
After the accident, Viñales was transferred to the medical center where he was examined following the contusion of his left elbow. No fractures were reported, but an additional ultrasound exam subsequently highlighted modest post-traumatic swelling. For this reason, the Spanish rider will undergo anti-inflammatory therapy.
The qualifiers did not go well for Aleix Espargaró, who finished Q1 in 20th position. Despite this, however, he demonstrated great determination in the sprint with a good race pace and succeeded in fighting his way back to eighth place overall.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“Luckily I’m fine. I only suffered severe bruising to the nerves in my left elbow, which caused me to lose feeling in my hand, but I am already improving. I am happy with the way the bike performed and my race pace, which was very good. I hope that I can recover in time for the long race, because I know we can win some important points here.”
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
“Because it was such a cold morning, I couldn’t get the tyres up to temperature, and as a result, I wasn’t fast in the qualifiers. But in reality, my race pace and the bike weren’t at all bad, and I managed to make a decent comeback.”
ROMANO ALBESIANO
“After starting from the front row in Japan, we proved to be competitive again in Australia, as both the factory and satellite bikes showed. Unfortunately, Maverick’s race was clearly unlucky; we hope that in the long race he will be able to recover well after the crash, as his performance could be very strong. As for Aleix, we know he is capable of a good performance and we are looking forward to seeing him in action.”
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