Repsol rider takes win by a hair at Mugello and pulls within nine points of the Moto3 lead. Rins places seventh on first visit to Mugello. Oliveira retires early after a crash.
Maverick Viñales wanted to make clear this weekend that his disappointment in Germany was firmly behind him. After placing first in four of the pre-race practice sessions and taking pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, the Spaniard concluded with victory at Mugello. Viñales waited patiently for his moment as the laps went by, watching on as a group of up to twelve riders was reduced little-by-little. Midway through the race, the group had split in half to consist of Vázquez, Fenati, Cortese, Antonelli, Kent, fellow Repsol rider Rins and the determined Maverick.
Whilst Rins had an excellent race on his first visit to the Italian track, Viñales was only thinking of victory and put himself into the lead with eight laps to go. He attempted to break away from the group, followed only by Fenati and Cortese. Rins dropped back as part of the chasing pack and fought with Vázquez, Antonelli and Kent for fourth place.
The final two laps featured an intense battle for victory between the leading three riders. Viñales maintained a fast pace to avoid overtakes, Fenati pegged onto his rear wheel and Cortese studied the duo from back in third. In the end, the Repsol rider won by just 20 thousandths of a second, ahead of Fenati and Cortese. This was his fifth triumph of the season and allows him to cut nine points off Cortese’s lead in the overall standings.
Álex Rins eventually placed seventh, whilst teammate Miguel Oliveira was unable to finish after suffering a crash.
Maverick Viñales >> Audio
1st – 39:57.374
“At the start of the race it did not make sense to push hard, because the tyres were new and everyone could match the pace, so I waited until the tyres wore down a little and there were few laps left before upping the pace. I saw my chance when Danny Kent ran wide and I used it to split the group. I led for a number of laps, but I knew that the others had try and get past. I decided to exit the final corner first. It was a very close call, but after what happened in Germany a podium return and a victory is very good for us. It is good for our calm over the break. We return to action at a difficult track in Indianapolis, where there is a long straight and acceleration is needed, so we will have to improve and get stronger.”
Miguel Oliveira >> Audio
Fall
“I got a good start and had a strong early few laps. I gained places and caught up with the lead group, but when you haven’t ridden at this pace for the entire weekend, you obviously feel the changes with your setup. The bike works in a different way under these conditions and this was one of the factors that caused my crash. We have to be positive and think that we have learnt a lot this weekend.”
Álex Rins >> Audio
7th at 5.906 seg
“I expected much more today. We should be satisfied with the result if we look at the situation as being my first time here in my rookie season, but it isn’t like that for me. My rear tyre went off mid-race and before the first “Arrabbiata” I had a scare that lost me ground on the lead group. I tried to ride my own race, but when you are part of a group this becomes difficult. One of my aims was to try not to lead into the final corner in order to be able to slipstream the riders ahead. However, we were unable to finish the race in the same way that we began. It is tough riding like this and it is a pity, because we had the pace to finish on the podium.”
