Maverick Vinales last: “It felt like I was going to crash on every corner”

Maverick Vinales may have avoided the fate of Aprilia team-mate Aleix Espargaro, down and out at Turn 1 of the Aragon MotoGP Sprint. 

But the COTA winner was also left pointless after crossing the finish line in a distant 19th and last.

Vinales was 37.642s behind race winner Marc Marquez over the 11-laps, meaning he lost an average of 3.422s per lap to the Gresini Ducati rider.

The Spaniard later described the low grip conditions as ‘like riding in the wet’ on his RS-GP.

“It felt like I was going to crash on every corner and I couldn't lean all the way into the turns,” Vinales said. “We need to figure out what changed from Friday.

“The track conditions obviously changed and there wasn't much grip, but I don't understand why the tyres didn't work as they should have. 

"It was like riding in the wet.”

Espargaro and Vinales began the weekend in second and third, behind only Marquez, during Friday practice.

But when the ‘dirty’ rain arrived overnight, it washed away their hopes.

“The dirty track and the extremely low traction demonstrated how our bike is still too dependent on grip conditions,” said Aprilia technical director Romano Albesiano.

“We did demonstrate outstanding speed in practice, but with precarious grip conditions, we struggled.”

Trackhouse rider Miguel Oliveira finished as the only Aprilia in the top ten, in fifth, but was still some 11.7s behind Marquez.

“Oliveira had the best performance, managing to adapt well and interpret track conditions,” Albesiano added.

But he warned: “The long [Sunday] race will likely be difficult, since rain is forecast which will make the track even dirtier.”

Rain duly arrived to soak the new Aragon asphalt ahead of Sunday warm-up, bringing more dirt.

The track then dried, but all riders will also need to switch from the soft to medium compound rear tyre for the 22-lap grand prix.