Maverick Vinales did not shy away from the hand gesture he made at a motionless Marco Bezzecchi following the pair’s high-speed crash in the latter stages of Saturday’s sprint race at the Australian Grand Prix.
The factory Aprilia rider had qualified third on the grid for the Phillip Island race but was unable to maintain his position at the start, losing several places to eighth, a position he held for five laps.
Then, amidst crashes and overtaking, Vinales began to make his way up to sixth, behind VR46 Ducati rider Bezzecchi. But despite being the only frontrunner on the medium rear tyre, the Italian fought tooth and nail until the incident on lap 11, two laps from the end of the sprint.
Vinales overtook Bezzecchi approaching Doohan corner and pushed hard under braking, but the Italian lost his reference and didn’t brake where he was supposed to, slamming into the Aprilia from behind.
Both went into the gravel at high speed, fortunately, without serious consequences in terms of injuries, despite Bezzecchi lying still for a short while following the crash. Both riders were conscious after the incident, although Bezzecchi was taken away on a stretcher.
A statement from the Aprilia team said that Vinales was “transferred to the medical centre where he was examined following the contusion of his left elbow. No fractures were reported, but an additional ultrasound exam subsequently highlighted modest post-traumatic swelling. For this reason, the Spanish rider will undergo anti-inflammatory therapy.”
Vinales was confident of racing on Sunday when he spoke to the media. He also explained how events unfolded from his point of view.
“When I crashed I felt a cramp and then I couldn’t feel my hand,” revealed the Spanish rider. “That’s why I was a bit scared.”
“Bezzecchi must have misunderstood the braking point. We spoke and he told me that he would come and talk to me afterwards. Let’s see what he says.”
Further conversation was not possible in the immediate aftermath of the race as Bezzecchi went to hospital in Melbourne for further checks. For this reason, Bezzecchi’s point of view and any possible sanction from race direction will also have to wait until Sunday.
Following the initial checks performed at the circuit’s medical centre, Bezzecchi is understood not to have any fractures.
After the crash, with Bezzecchi lying motionless on the ground, Vinales showed him the middle finger, which attracted some criticism.
“I get thrown off at 300 kilometres per hour - what am I going to do, give him a kiss?” was Vinales’ comment on the matter. “At home, I would have done something else.”
Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez said he regarded the crash as a racing incident.
“If you look at it, it looks like it’s Bezzecchi’s fault, but for me, it’s a racing incident.
“In 2017, I had exactly the same situation. I overtook using the slipstream, but then when I arrived at the braking point the wind pushed me out.
“You don’t want to go into the middle of the track because you know that with these bikes if you go in front of the guy you are overtaking, the slipstream sucks the second guy.
“So you never want to be in front because you know it’s a dangerous situation for you. But today the wind was pushing laterally and I think Vinales could not avoid that movement while Bezzecchi couldn’t avoid the sucking.
“But guys, we are riding at 320km/h, shaking, and it’s windy at the end of the straight. So for me it’s a racing incident.”
