One of the most intense moments of the Portuguese GP happened yesterday in the long race when Maverick Viñales, very close to the end of the long race, crashed at a stage when he was in second place and had everything he needed to end a weekend on a high with two podiums. Aleix Espargaró regretted what had happened and called the situation ‘absurd’.
The Aprilia rider commented on his team-mate’s crash: ‘Something quite absurd, a silly thing, but it’s bad because Maverick deserved, he was at a very high level’.
The #41 believes that his teammate was having probably his best performance with the RS-GP, which brought him some sorrow at seeing his colleague crash in inglorious fashion: ‘The race Jorge set with a very high pace and Maverick was doing probably the best race he’s ever done with the Aprilia. And I feel bad for him and for Aprilia that, with one lap to go, he couldn’t finish’.
Viñales won the Sprint race to take his first victory at the helm of the Aprilia, and just when it seemed certain that he would get another podium he crashed, the reason being gearbox problems, something that had been bothering him since the sixth lap.