That the rags were flying by now was quite evident and it was enough to go and see the statements of Maverick Vinales at the end of the Styrian Grand Prix last Sunday, but that Yamaha would even go so far as to walk him for the Austrian Grand Prix was not predictable.
“I, with the team, with my mechanics, feel great. Another thing is with the Yamaha bosses,” said Maverick with a fairly direct attack, which occurred after his bike had stopped on the starting grid earlier. of the restart, forcing him to take off from the pitlane and completely ruining his race.
All after the Spaniard had decided to terminate his relationship with Yamaha a year before the expiration of the contract, the day after the Dutch Grand Prix. Even if from that moment on Maverick had expressed his intention to do everything possible to close in the best way the path started in 2017, which so far has yielded 8 victories in the premier class, the restart had not been exactly idyllic in Styria.
This morning, like a bolt from the blue, a statement arrived with which the Iwata manufacturer announced that it had withdrawn the registration of the Spanish driver for the second race of the Red Bull Ring, also attaching heavy accusations to the rider from Roses, that is that he drove last weekend in such a way as to damage the engine of his M1.
For the moment there is talk of a decision relating only to this weekend, but it is safe to bet that it will not end in tarallucci and wine, so it cannot be excluded that this could also be the terminus of Maverick’s adventure in Yamaha.
“Yamaha is sorry to announce that Maverick Viñales’ entry to the Austrian MotoGP GP this weekend has been withdrawn by the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team,” reads the Japanese manufacturer’s statement.
“The decision follows Yamaha’s suspension of the rider due to the rider’s unexplained irregular use of the bike during last weekend’s MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix race.”
“Yamaha’s decision follows an in-depth analysis of telemetry and data from the last few days.”
“Yamaha’s conclusion is that the rider’s actions could potentially have caused significant damage to the engine of his YZR-M1 which could have caused serious risks to the rider himself and possibly posed a danger to all other riders in the MotoGP race. “.
“The driver will not be replaced at the Austrian GP”.
“The decisions regarding future races will be made after a more detailed analysis of the situation and further discussions between Yamaha and the rider”, concludes the note.
As for the future of Vinales, all the clues seem to lead to a landing in Aprilia in 2022. Indeed, last weekend there were already rumors of a one-year agreement with the Noale manufacturer and it was assumed that the announcement could arrive today. In light of what has happened, however, one thinks that everything will be postponed by at least a few days.
It remains to be seen who could get on the second official M1 for the rest of the season if the two sides fail to mend the tear, which now seems to be truly on the verge of irremediable …
–
