The Portuguese Grand Prix went awry on Saturday for the Spaniard, after the stewards canceled several of his fastest laps for exceeding the limits of the track, something that Viñales categorically denied. The last of these canceled laps would have clearly put him in contention for pole, but he eventually had to start from 12th place. As if all that were not enough, the rider from Roses (Girona) starred in a disastrous start that led him to cross the finish line penultimate as he passed through the first lap.
The Catalan, who won the World Cup premiere in Qatar, has now fallen to third place in the general table, with 21 points less than Fabio Quartararo, his teammate in the official Yamaha team.
The consistency of the Frenchman, who has two wins and a fifth place, contrasts with the slump of the driver from Roses (Girona) in Portimao, where he only managed to be competitive in the last moments of the official test on Saturday.
“You have to understand what happened, because the only time I was able to go fast was in the last fast lap attack [on Saturday]. That was the only time I had grip on the rear end”, Viñales summed up.
“I’m especially worried because this is not a season to be so inconsistent,” added Mack , who despite showing his anger with the stewards, did not want to use his meddling as an excuse.
“The stewards screwed up a weekend that could have been precious for Yamaha. But if you have grip you can go behind and come back. I wouldn’t have been able to fight for the podium, but surely I would have been able to finish in the top five”, deepened the Yamaha rider, who without saying so clearly pointed to his side of the garage.
“It worries me to see that our side of the box has not been able to find the way. It was a very tough race that we cannot understand. I have speed, but this performance of the bike is unacceptable”, clinched #12 .
The photos of the Portuguese GP 2021 of MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
