---
title: "Vinales bemused by race crash"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/04/24/vinales-bemused-race-crash/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2017-04-24T09:46:47Z"
modified: "2017-04-24T09:47:05Z"
---

# Vinales bemused by race crash

Maverick Vinales proved he was human in Sunday’s 21-lap Grand Prix of the Americas, as the Spaniard registered his first DNF since Argentina 2016.

The Spaniard had been in imperious form all weekend, and looked a serious challenger to Honda’s Marc Marquez’s 100% pole and win record at the Circuit of the Americas.

![Getty Images/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/672041698.jpg)

He was denied pole by just over a tenth, but his long run pace was still strong enough to see him fight for the win. An average start had Vinales having to fight his way through Ducati’s Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi.

However, at the end of the second lap, his charge crumbled as he tucked the front-end of his M1 going through the long right of Turn 18.

The crash has baffled the Spaniard, as he did not feel as if he did anything different than he had done all weekend. He theorises that potentially there was a problem with his medium front Michelin tyre.

> Twitter: Viñales has gone down! It won’t be the dream hat-trick for #MV25!\
> \#RiderOK #AmericasGP https://t.co/KucjbdWjm3 (@MotoGP)

“It was a really strange crash,” a dejected Vinales explained.

“I did exactly the same as in warm up, and all weekend but I crashed. I think we had some issues with the front tyre.”

Rossi went on to finish second, and with Vinales tallying up no points for the first time in his Yamaha career the Italian moves six points ahead of him in the championship standings.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/666609770.jpg)

Despite this, Vinales is remaining upbeat. His pace all weekend suggested he would be a fixture in the battle for victory, and knows that he can continue the strong form he has shown so far when MotoGP heads to his home race at Jerez next month.

“Anyway, we know that we are strong and that we have the speed,” he added.

“We can be strong again, so I am going to try to forget this crash and come to Jerez even faster, strong and more consistent than I was here.”