Bleak Thai MotoGP in store for Maverick Vinales: ‘I’m a bit afraid to be on the bike’

Maverick Vinales says grip woes on his Aprilia MotoGP bike in the Thailand Grand Prix sprint have made him “a bit afraid even to be on the bike” on Sunday.

The Spaniard qualified his RS-GP 10th on the grid on Saturday, but dropped like a stone in the 13-lap sprint as he ended up 20th.

Overall it was a difficult race for Aprilia, with its best runner Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse in 14th.

Vinales says the bike has “very low grip” and is particularly worried about even being able to stay on his Aprilia in the grand prix if he has to race with the hard rear option.

“To be honest, we have no feeling on the bike,” a dejected Vinales told the media, including Crash.net, on Saturday.

“We have very low grip. I’m really worried for tomorrow because if we have to do the race on the hard rear tyre, it’s going to be tough to be even on the bike.

“So, let’s see. I’m concerned that it’s a tough weekend, but we will try to do the best tomorrow.”

Asked by Crash.net where he is losing grip, Vinales replied: “It’s everywhere. We can do nothing.

“We try to move the bike. Somehow this bike is not working on this track.

“We have another chance tomorrow, but with the hard/medium I’m a bit afraid, to be honest, even to be on the bike.”

Grip issues have been a problem for Aprilia for much of the season now and Vinales says the Italian marque has turned its bike upside down to find a solution, but to no avail.

“I mean, we are understanding,” he added.

“It’s pretty tough also for the team. Last year was pretty different because the grip was not bad.

“You arrive this year, you have zero grip. There is not much to do on the bike. You have the same bike as the beginning of the year, we try to go shorter, longer, swingarm, wheels, front, back - it doesn’t change too much.

“I think it is the bike. It’s not working.”

Heat concerns present at Buriram

The Aprilia has also struggled to dissipate heat at sweltering races in recent years, something that was an issue for a battered and bruised Aleix Espargaro on his way to 15th in the Thailand sprint.

“I’m a little bit rigid, I have some pain in the neck due to the crash,” Espargaro said.

“Has been a tough race, because I have been really tired after the crash and the neck pain, and the bike throws a lot of heat. So, it was a very difficult race.

“It’s [the heat issue] really similar and it has been really, really tough. Today was just 13 laps, so tomorrow will be difficult. But it is what it is.”

Vinales says it was “better than expected” on his bike, but says this was due to the cloud cover, while the Spaniard also wasn’t fighting in the middle of the pack like his team-mate was.