'I felt at my limit': Maverick Vinales' brutal assessment of last place finish in Indonesia

A distant last-place meant Maverick Vinales’ finishing position didn’t change after a post-race penalty for low tyre pressure at the Mandalika MotoGP.

Before the sanction was applied, Vinales was already more than 21 seconds behind Honda rookie Diogo Moreira and almost 34 seconds behind the next KTM of Brad Binder, in 11th.

Mandalika was Vinales’ second event after several months on the sidelines for more treatment on his injured shoulder. But after finishing the Motegi weekend in 14th, Indonesia was a clear step back.

The Spaniard, linked with a possible Ducati testing role in 2027, was 18th out of 20 finishers in the Indonesia Sprint, then 17th in the Grand Prix, where four riders retired and Aleix Espargaro failed to start.

Tech3 stated that Vinales ‘didn’t feel at his physical best in morning warm up’ while the former Suzuki, Yamaha and Aprilia race winner also said he lacked feeling with the RC16.

"It was a bad race," said Vinales. "Already this morning in the warm up I felt really bad and at my limit. 

"I did the race and tried to finish for my team.I tried to do a good rhythm in the middle of the race but it was really difficult. I tried to push but, also, I still don’t feel so good with the bike.

"It was very tough to do something good.

"Now is the time just to relax and go onto the next one.

"I will not train for the next days and try to recover and see the evolution of my physical condition over the next days. It was a very tough weekend."

Team Manager Nicolas Goyon added: “For some reason, Maverick never really felt comfortable on the bike.

“He didn’t find a good setup and couldn’t find the confidence. It was clearly a disappointing result today.

“Maverick will have to take a break, refresh himself and come back in Phillip Island in better spirits and there is no reason why we can’t do it.”