Vinales explains dramatic brake 'explosion' in Styria MotoGP
Maverick Vinales says the brake failure which forced him to jump off his Yamaha at 130mph in the Styrian Grand Prix was something he "never had during my MotoGP career".
Yamaha riders have endured brake concerns in both Red Bull Ring weekends, with Petronas rider Fabio Quartararo's Austrian GP hindered by issues he branded "dangerous".
Vinales was passed by Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso in the early stages of the Styrian GP, before dropping to 10th by lap 10 as he began to lose brake pressure.
The problem seemed to resolve itself, before it got worse again, with the Yamaha rider raising his hand to signal he had an issue on lap 13.
Then on lap 17 on the way into Turn 1, his front brake "exploded" and he had to jump off, with the bike slamming into the barrier and bringing out the red flag.
The restarted race was eventually won by Tech 3 KTM rider Miguel Oliveira after a final corner move on Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro.
Explaining his crash, Vinales said: "I was quite fast, I was feeling fantastic on the first laps, I was pushing Dovi, but as we don't have top speed, you can see I could not overtake.
"I overtook one time and I said 'okay, now I can go forward in front', but then he overtake me on the straight very easily.
"I was just waiting to get the rhythm, but then I started to lose the front pressure of the brake, I went out [of the track] one time.
"I make three laps very slow in 1m26s, then I push again at 1m24s, then again without brakes, and then Quartararo, Valentino [Rossi] and [Danilo] Petrucci overtake me.
"Then suddenly the brake was good. So, I could make 1m22s, 1m24s on mediums and I was recovering a lot to Valentino and Fabio, but then suddenly at corner one the brake exploded, so [it was] impossible to do anything."
When asked if he'd had any issues with his brakes before, he added: "No, no, it's something I never had during all my MotoGP career.
"Maybe [the brake pressure would] go down a little bit.
"I played with the lever [to adjust it], but on every lap I was adjusting the lever corner by corner so I couldn't do nothing."
Though Red Bull Ring is notorious for its hard braking zones, Vinales doesn't feel this was the main cause of his failure.
Bike of Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing after his crash
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Share Or Save This Story
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
The five riders leaving MotoGP in 2027 - and where they are headed next
Pol Espargaro to replace Maverick Vinales again at Tech3 KTM
KTM replaces Maverick Vinales with Pol Espargaro for British GP
Fabio Quartararo: 'Out of frustration, I said things that weren't right'
Alex Rins to switch to car racing after MotoGP exit
MotoGP 2027 grid: All confirmed rider signings
MotoGP San Marino GP: Marc Marquez beats Marco Bezzecchi to another sprint win
LIVE: F1 Spanish Grand Prix updates - Follow qualifying in Madrid with live timing
Kimi Antonelli "should be in a Ferrari" after Monza win, says Guenther Steiner
Anthony Davidson warns young drivers not to follow Lewis Hamilton's Madrid FP3 example
Pedro Acosta may not win a MotoGP race on a KTM - and that’s not a failure
Will the 2026 MotoGP title fight boil down to these three riders?
What we learned from an intriguing MotoGP Aragon GP
How MotoGP's summer break has revitalised Aprilia's factory team
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments