In the final phase of the Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix, Maverick Viñales chose to slightly slow down the pace in defense against the approaching Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha). However, he couldn’t attack the leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
The Aprilia rider stated in a press conference that his strategy was the most appropriate, by conserving the tire and keeping Quartararo behind him. And he understands that even without having to defend, the result would not be different:
– I think I made the right choice, slowing down a bit. Also because if you are so close behind someone the tire temperature rises a lot and you destroy the tire. So, I needed to try to understand what the limit was and I understood very well what the limit of the lap time was to not destroy the tire: it was an average of 1m31s. I managed to keep Fabio behind. Of course, when I saw Fabio getting closer, I started braking a little later and stopping the bike a little more to make him not have speed in the curve and be able to put the bike on the side to brake. This way I could also save the rear tire a bit. However, I believe that without Fabio behind maybe I would attack more in the last five laps, but then the rear tire would break. So, my result would be the same.
