Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales showed his mental strength at the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland over the weekend. He had Cal Crutchlow breathing down his neck for half of the race, trying to steal second place from him, but the Spaniard held firm, taking his second consecutive podium. Rossi tagged onto the back of the group fighting for fourth place but struggled to get in the midst of the action. He finished the race in eighth.
Viñales had a good start from third and slotted into second in the first corner. He was going all out in the early laps, as he didn‘t want to let Marc Marquez out of his sight, but tyre management was also crucial. When Álex Rins passed the Yamaha rider on lap four, the latter cleverly stuck to his rival but did not make a move, to ensure the pair of them wouldn‘t lose any valuable time.
However, the number-12 rider was unable to keep up with the low 1‘21s-lap pace and soon needed to shift his attention to keeping Crutchlow at bay. With Rins crashing out in lap 19, it turned into a battle for second. The Factory Yamaha man did a stellar job and, after withstanding the pressure for 15 laps, his superb concentration and consistency broke the Brit in the last lap. A small mistake from his rival finally gave Viñales some breathing space to bring his YZR-M1 over the finish line in second place, 4.587s from first.
It was a difficult race for Rossi. Starting from 11th on the grid, he lost one place in the first few corners. However, some early crashers in the opening laps meant he was soon back up to ninth as he picked off Pol Espargaró.
The Doctor maintained this position for a long time in a group of seven riders battling for fifth place, but he wasn‘t quite able to get into the mix of the action. With 14 laps remaining he had to let Joan Mir pass, but as Rins crashed out of the leading group the Italian was soon back up to ninth again. Despite having to contend with tyre degradation in the final stages of the race, he overtook Franco Morbidelli with 9 laps to go and was eager to join the now fight for fourth, but a mistake, with four laps remaining, cost him a couple of tenths. He tried to have another go, but ultimately had to settle for eighth place, 19.110s from the top.
Today’s second place means Viñales moves up to fifth in the championship standings with a 100-point gap to first, one position ahead of Rossi, with a 105-point deficit. Yamaha remains third in the constructor standings, and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP also stays in third in the team classification. Viñales and Rossi will now enjoy a three-week summer break, before they start the second half of the MotoGP World Championship with the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, held at the Automotodrom Brno from August 2-4.
