Marco Bezzecchi
KTM thought they had secured their best result of the MotoGP season courtesy of Maverick Vinales’ second place at the Grand Prix of Qatar.
However, almost immediately after the race ended, Vinales was placed under investigation for a tyre pressure infringement.
After the podium celebrations concluded, the Spaniard was handed a 16-second penalty, demoting him to 14th and stripping both Tech3 and KTM of an emphatic achievement.
Nobody expected that Vinales would be in contention for victory during the Grand Prix of Qatar, but he stormed through the pack and deserved his result.
Tech3 made the crucial Vinales mistake because they hadn’t anticipated that their rider would lead the race. That affected his tyre pressure, which then failed to meet the regulations and saw him take a penalty.
Vinales is successful at the Grand Prix of Qatar and he flexed his muscles at Lusail once again. He extracted something from a bike which even the supremely talented Pedro Acosta hasn’t found yet.
Pedro Acosta and MotoGP fans want ‘sickening’ tyre pressure rule changed after Qatar Grand Prix
Fellow KTM rider Acosta was the first to come to Vinales’ defence after the race in the Middle East, and believes that a rule change is the best solution to the issue.
“It’s certainly a sensitive issue but, in the end, a rider can’t predict what the temperatures are going to be during the Grand Prix or if there’s going to be a crosswind,” he told GPOne.
“In my opinion, the regulations should be changed because then you risk losing podiums and victories.”
Fans took to social media to share their complaints. The first of which was shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), which had some sympathy for Vinales’ loss of points.
“Absolutely sickening. I’m so fed up with tyre pressures ruining results. Especially something so special like this from Mav!!”
Another fan wrote, “This is nonsense. Either open up the specs for the penalty or figure out a better way to hand out penalties. Great ride by Maverick.”
Someone else agreed that the Spaniard had been given the tough end of the stick by saying, “That is too harsh…”
Another fan took his criticism to another level, “The most pathetic rule in MotoGP,” and that was agreed upon by another supporter, “That is pathetic.”
Finally, one last response outlined how the penalty had scuppered a great evening of racing, “Viñales was super in the Qatar GP, these penalty things ruin everything.”
READ MORE: Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales trying to avoid saying one thing about KTM, ‘I’ll get frustrated’
How did Maverick Vinales’ post-race Qatar Grand Prix penalty affect the MotoGP standings?
With second place, Vinales had found a way to creep inside the top 10 of the riders’ standings in 10th, with 26 points.
His penalty then saw him lose all those points, and he is now back down in 18th, with just eight points from the opening four races.
KTM had reason to celebrate too. Momentarily they were second in the constructors’ championship, but have now fallen back down to fourth, level on points with Yamaha for last place.
Regardless of the post-race sanctions, the pace should be a confidence and morale-booster for everyone involved. They can get onto the podium in 2025.
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