MotoGP Japan: Aleix Espargaro: ‘Perhaps my best performance in the wet’, Maverick Vinales down at Turn 1
The factory Aprilia rider took the lead after his bike swap, before being shuffled back to sixth plac♔e as the rain eased.
But as conditions worsened, E🍌spargaro’s soft rear - most other frontrunners were on the medium - began to payജ off once again.
However, the rain became too ꩲextreme, and the race was halted at ꦐhalf distance, with Espargaro in fifth.
But with Johann Zarco not classified after his late fall, Espargaro’s 11 points also hande൲d him fifth place in the world championship.
"All told, a positive day with perhaps my best performance in the wet,” Espargaro said. “After the bike change🤡, wဣe had chosen the soft rear tyre, counting on the fact that when it rains it pours here in Motegi.
“Instead, on the first ꦕlaps it was difficult. With not much water on the track, the soft tyre overheated and I was afraid I wouldn𒐪’t be able to finish the race. However, when the rain increased, I began to feel increasingly better.
“I was making up ground on the riders ahead of me and could have aimed for something ꦬhigher than fifth place. Unfortunately, visibility was really low🌊 and it got even worse after the red flag and the restart.
“The decisions taken by Race Dir💜ection today were impeccable."
Vinales: ‘My race was over on the first corner’
Team-mate Maverick Vinales saw his Motegi chances end after con🙈tact at a perilous first corner, which riders approached using slick tyres in the increasing rain.
Marco Bezzecchi had to si𒁃t up his VR46 machine to avoid the back wheel of Francesco Bagnaia🌃, causing contact with Vinales, who became sandwiched between Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco.
While the others remained on two w🌳heels, Vinales then fell in the gravel, rejoining in last, ඣwhere he remained.
The cancellation of a restart then ended 🐼any hope of points.
"My race was over on the 🀅first corner when I was forced wide into the gravel, crashing and restar𓂃ting last with a huge gap,” Vinales said.
“After the bike ꦺchange, to be honest, my pace in the wet was extremely good, but with so much distance to make up, it would not have been an easy race.
“I was hopeful for the restart after the red flag. Even though I would have star✃ted from pit lane, at least I would have had another chance."
V�𓆉�inales is seventh in the world championship, 23 points behind Zarco.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go༺. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
