VOLUME 59 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 9, 2022 P67
into the top five on lap nine, then into the
top three on lap 17 after disposing of the
fading Rins, who, like Quartararo, was suf-
fering a terminal lack of grip. Rins would
eventually come home seventh.
Vinales then carved up Miller for second
on lap 18 and, by lap 19, had shut down
Bagnaia's 0.6-second deficit. The former
Yamaha and Suzuki factory rider then
briefly led a race for the first time on the
factory Aprilia as he pushed past Bag-
naia on the penultimate lap at the Village
left-hander, only to lose the lead on the
cutback from the Ducati man.
Bagnaia had a 0.3-second advantage
heading into the 20th and final lap and
Vinales ran wide at three separate oc-
casions, ensuring the victory would go
to the Italian. Vinales was still emphatic
to take second, his best result for Aprilia
MYOWNRACE
12 MAVERICK VINALES
2ND MOTOGP
"I tried my best all the way to the end,"
Vinales said. "Unfortunately, I lost a bit
of me in the ba le during the opening
laps, but then to recover, I stressed the
res a lot and didn't have anything le in
the finale. Bagnaia was good at closing
the door when I overtook him. On a
couple of corners, I lost the rear trying to
catch up and that's where the race was
decided. In any case, I'm happy."
41 ALEIX ESPARGARO
9TH MOTOGP
"I felt rather good in the race and didn't
have too much pain, but I also wasn't
able to move on the bike comfortably
and be aggressive," Espargaro said. "That
meant I wasn't able to overtake. I didn't
make even one pass all race and that was
a determining factor where the result
was concerned. In any case, I don't want
to make excuses. The crash obviously
didn't help in terms of confidence, but
we weren't able to be as fast as we
wanted to be today."
