“Everyone was elbows out at the start!”
“They almost made me crash," Maverick Vinales admits in newly-released footage
The exhilarating Americas MotoGP was assessed by the three exhausted podium finishers afterwards.
Newly released footage of Maverick Vinales , Pedro Acosta and Enea Bastianini showed their instant reaction to highlights from Sunday’s epic race.
Bastianini asked Acosta: “Hard one, right?”
Acosta: “From all the races we’ve done, this was the hardest.”
Bastianini: “This one is one of the hardest of the year.”
Acosta: “The problem is that after the first sector, you are dead.”
Bastianini: “Yes, yes. Without the first sector it wouldn’t be that difficult.”
Acosta: “And when you are on the back straight you can’t relax your hands.”
Bastianini: “No. You are going like this…”
The three riders watched highlights of the exciting start, where Vinales dropped back from pole position to 11th.
Vinales said: “They almost made me crash.”
Acosta: “Everyone was elbows out at the start.”
Vinales: “It’s like that, here.”
Acosta: “When I saw Jorge Martin pushing that hard with the soft rear tyre… did you go with the medium rear tyre?”
Vinales: “Yes.”
Bastianini: “Turn 1 is a bit tricky at the beginning.”
Vinales: “Yeah.”
Bastianini: “It’s very tight.”
Ducati rider Bastianini, who finished third, was unaware of the fate of Marc Marquez, who crashed out of the lead.
Bastianini asked: “How did Marquez finish in the end?”
Acosta: “I don’t know.”
Vinales: “I think he locked the front.”
Acosta: “Yes, yes.”
Vinales: “He tried to overtake you, and he crashed, right?”
Acosta: “At Turn 11…”
Vinales: “Did he go through the wet part?”
Acosta: “Yes.”
Aprilia’s Vinales won to become the first MotoGP rider to win grands prix for three different manufacturers.
Tech3 GASGAS’ Acosta again lit up the race, leading in the premier class for the first time.
Bastianini asked Acosta: “Did you go with the soft or medium rear tyre?”
Acosta: “Medium. Yes, because I used the entire soft tyre [on Saturday]. My race simulation showed 140% consumption if I rode with the soft rear tyre.”
Bastianini: “You had no choice, then.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
