Phillip Island.- On September 25 of last year, after an accident in a Supersport 300 class race in Jerez, the driver Dean Berta Viñales , cousin of Maverick, died, who a year later mourns, again, the death of a young racer at the handlebars of one of those bikes, this time Dutchman Victor Steeman .
For Maverick Viñales, who this Thursday attended the media in the run-up to the Australian Grand Prix , the Supersport 300 bikes are a danger that he has been warning about for a long time.
“I’ve always had the same opinion about the Supersport 300, and I said it before Dean had his accident. That type of category with 180 kilo bikes that can go 225 km/h maximum on the straight is useless for a pilot”, explained Viñales.
“You don’t learn anything. Talented guys get caught up in a situation where if you have a bike that’s 2 km/h faster, you win the race. There’s no talent in that,” added the Aprilia rider.
“The problem with Supersport 300 is that the bikes weigh 160 kilos, they don’t have speed, they go in a group and, of course, if someone falls in front of you it’s impossible to avoid it. For me it’s not about age, it’s not about riders, it’s about the bikes,” he says.
“They don’t have power, they weigh like a MotoGP, the brakes are shit, the swingarm is like a street bike. The problem is the category, not the riders. It’s not the age, because when I was 13 years old I was racing in 125GP And nothing happened because there weren’t 20 of us in a platoon. There were only three or four, no more because it was difficult to be with those in front”.
“Of course, when the time came I said to my family ‘I think this category is not good for Dean, it is not good for him to race here’. But in the end, things go as they go. other things, they are not even racing bikes and that is a problem”.
Going back to the race weekend at Phillip Island, Viñales considers that the Australian track offers a good opportunity to achieve positive results despite not having raced here for almost three years.
“I don’t think we need a lot of data on a track with so much grip. Just roll. You have to take into account the left side of the tire, but only that,” he said.
The World Championship reaches the final stretch and there are still several drivers in contention for the championship.
“ It is possible that this year, there will be a pilot who escapes, and that those who fight for the title get entangled among themselves. In recent years, the World Cup was already decided,” he recalled.
Among the contenders is his boxing partner, Aleix Espargaró.
“ It is very difficult to predict the World Championship, because there are five riders in the fight. But the best way to help Aprilia is to try to ride in the front. Obviously, if I have to help Aleix, I will do it,” he insisted.
Although there are fewer and fewer tracks favorable to one particular brand or another, Maverick believes that some characteristics of his bike are well suited to this track.
“ The Aprilia is very stable under braking, and that’s good here,” he assured,
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
