Maverick Viñales Finishes Last at Mandalika and Is Penalized: “It’s Very Difficult to Do Anything Good”

Maverick Viñales' Indonesian Grand Prix was a long ordeal. The KTM rider finished seventeenth and last at Mandalika, still hampered by a shoulder injury that has not fully healed, and admitted that he had already realized that morning that he was not fit to race.

As if that were not enough, the Spaniard was handed a 16-second penalty for failing to comply with the minimum tyre-pressure requirement. The penalty had no effect on the result: since he was already last, he did not lose any positions. His post-race comments were collected by Manuel Pecino for Motosan

Viñales did not discover his limitations during the race. The picture was already clear before the lights went out, but the Roses rider decided to line up anyway out of respect for the team: "I already felt awful during the Warm-Up. So yes, I raced, I tried for my team, but it was of no use. Midway through the race I tried to understand how the others were doing, but it was very difficult, really difficult".

In his own words, the problem is not only physical. He also lacked feeling with the bike: "I try to give everything, of course, over some laps. But I don't even feel comfortable on the bike, so it's very tough. It's very difficult to do something well". Under these conditions, it is impossible to draw any conclusions about the competitiveness of his KTM from this seventeenth-place finish, while Pedro Acosta finished fifth on the other Austrian bike.

After a Sunday like that, recovery is the priority. Viñales has already decided to take a break: "I was at my limit. Now I will relax and move on to the next one. I will recover. I definitely won't train. Over the next few days I will try to recover and see how the situation develops. It has been a very tough weekend".

The next round takes place in Australia, at Phillip Island, but the Spaniard still does not know what condition he will be in when he gets there. Asked about his chances of taking the start, his answer was honest: "I have no idea. I need to see how I feel physically over the next few days, and then I will decide what to do".

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