MotoGP | Vinales: “On the straights I struggle to breathe because of the heat coming from the bike”

Maverick Vinales crossed the finish line eleven seconds behind Jorge Martin, winner of the Sprint, and in the same position he occupied on the starting grid. He was just ahead of his teammate from Noale, Aleix Espargaro. Both are struggling in the scorching heat conditions found yesterday at the circuit named after Marco Simoncelli, where the ambient temperature was over 30 degrees at 3:00 p.m., when the lights went out.

The forecast is for cloudy skies on Sunday, but the long race should be held in more or less the same heat. After this Grand Prix and the next one, which will take place in two weeks on the same track, the World Championship caravan will embark on the transoceanic journey, where the thermometer usually rises, especially during events such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Maverick Vinales, who already showed on Saturday how much he was struggling with the heat he was feeling on the RS-GP, said afterwards that he was worried about what awaits him in the transoceanic races. “I am very worried about the races in Asia,” said the Spaniard, who withdrew from last year’s Thailand Grand Prix due to the “hellish heat” emanating from his bike.

“The problem is that on the straights the heat hits your face. There are moments when it’s difficult to stay focused, because I struggle to breathe,” added the rider from Roses, who will switch to KTM next year.

Espargaro will also no longer be in the Noale garage, because he will join the Honda test team, but he is suffering from the same problem. “It was very difficult because of the heat that the bike transmits. Both Maverick and I were at the limit from a physical point of view, and this is strange”.

“The new fairing is worse in terms of heat than the previous one,” added the eldest of the Granollers brothers, impressed by yet another display of strength from the Ducatis. “Starting so far back (13th) made my life more difficult than it should have been. But the four 2024 Ducatis are really flying,” said #41.