Vinales: ‘We made a big mistake, not every day is like Christmas’

Vinales, who made a strong start to the race which involved overtaking MotoGP series leader Fabio Quartararo on the opening lap [turn nine], slowly saw his progress fade as the race went on.  

Although team-mate Aleix Espargaro also struggled to maintain his pace as Luca Marini and Johann Zarco came past the Spaniard late on, Espargaro was still able to remain inside the top ten. 

For Vinales, the former Yamaha rider began to suffer after making a mistake in turn four which saw him drop from fifth to eighth. 

Failing to gather enough information on the medium rear tyre throughout the weekend - Vinales elected to run the soft option, a decision that saw the 27 year-old drop like a stone as a result. 

"We just didn’t trust the medium [tyre]," Vinales told MotoGP.com. "On the medium rear tyre clearly we made a mistake, a big mistake. 

"But at the end it was the gamble we took and it didn’t pay off. Not every day is Christmas. 

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"We need to try to work harder, especially on the practices to understand it before. We tried it in the Warm-up but unfortunately it started raining so we could not try [the tyre] when the medium starts to work. 

"It was a weekend that was difficult because this different carcass was hard for our bike but at the end I think we found a lot of positive things on the bike and also about the riding style we improved a lot."

Vinales not alone in struggling for traction at the Austrian MotoGP

Like Vinales, Repsol Honda’s Pol Espargaro was another rider who faced difficulties with rear grip. 

In the midst of a truly disastrous second season with the Japanese manufacturer, the soon-to-be GASGAS Factory KTM rider also became the victim of arm pump during last Sunday’s Grand Prix.   

Espargaro said: "Today we had a very difficult race honestly, we struggled with traction and stopping the bike and also a bit of arm pump. 

"All of these issues contribute to not riding in the best way and this was the result today. We need to keep our spirit up and focus on our work. 

"Misano next week is a very different circuit so we hope that we can enjoy the weekend like we did there last year. There are still many races left this year so we have to persist."