MotoGP: Maverick Vinales suspended by Yamaha

Yamaha have suspended Maverick Vinales, he will not race the Austrian Grand Prix.

In a completely unexpected move, Yamaha have suspended Maverick Vinales from the Austrian Grand Prix due to “unexplained irregular operation of the motorcycle“, this follows his stall at the start of the race whereby he was forced off the grid, starting from pitlane running in dead last at the race restart.

Various unofficial sources have confirmed that Vinales was trying to blow his engine up, sitting on the rev-limiter during the race.

The statement read, “Yamaha regrets to announce that Maverick Vinales’ entry to this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP event has been withdrawn by the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team.

The absence follows the suspension of the rider by Yamaha due to the unexplained irregular operation of the motorcycle by the rider during last weekend’s Styria MotoGP race.

Yamaha’s decision follows an in-depth analysis of telemetry and data over the last few days.

Yamaha’s conclusion is that the rider’s actions could have potentially caused significant damage to the engine of his YZR-M1 bike which could have caused serious risks to the rider himself and possibly posed a danger to all other riders in the MotoGP race.

The rider will not be replaced at the Austrian GP.

Decisions regarding the future races will be taken after a more detailed analysis of the situation and further discussions between Yamaha and the rider.”

Featured image – Yamaha MotoGP