Maverick Vinales revealed that a technical issue with his gearbox, which arose from the sixth lap, contributed to his crash on the last lap of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix, where he was in second place. Despite dealing with a gear selection problem, Vinales had closely followed winner Jorge Martin throughout the race. However, on the penultimate lap, while shifting gears between fifth and sixth, his Aprilia unexpectedly shifted into neutral on the pit straight, forcing him to slow down. As he entered the final lap in Portimão, Vinales inadvertently accelerated while in second gear, causing his bike to lose control and crash in the first corner.
When asked about the incident, Vinales explained: “After crossing the finish line uphill, I tried to shift to sixth gear, but I couldn’t. Consequently, the bike went into neutral and hit the limiter. I extended my leg to signal to Bastianini that I was having difficulties and to keep a safe distance. I tried to shift to sixth gear again, but it still didn’t work. So, I went back to second gear and when I accelerated, it suddenly engaged, resulting in a highside crash.”
Although the issue prevented him from challenging Martin for the lead, Vinales believes that Aprilia can take advantage of the pace he showed before the incident. “I believe we should take a positive view,” he added. “I wouldn’t describe this as a disappointment, but rather as a warning, urging us to improve the bike’s reliability in certain aspects. Honestly, I encourage all Aprilia technicians to focus on improving in this area, especially if we aspire to fight for victories.”
He continued: “Despite the setbacks I encountered from the sixth lap, when switching between fifth and sixth gear, I had occasional failures. This made me maintain high revs for extended periods, resulting in a significant loss of top speed. I was losing a few tenths of a second, but despite these challenges, I managed to achieve a remarkable lap time of 1m38s.”
In conclusion, Vinales remains optimistic about the potential of his Aprilia, emphasizing the importance of resolving reliability issues to ensure competitiveness in the upcoming races.
