In the short sprint race at Jerez, many riders crashed. Out of 25 riders, 15 fell off their bikes. This happened between lap seven and the end of the 12-lap race. Vinales was one of them. He fell on lap 10 while he was in third place. Several others also fell at different parts of the track. Despite these crashes, the race continued.
Vinales thinks the race should have stopped. He believes there were wet spots on the track that made it dangerous. He said that some parts of the track looked dry, but there were hidden wet spots. He thinks the race officials should have noticed this after so many crashes.
He also mentioned that riders have asked for a way to communicate with race officials from their bikes, but nothing has been done about it yet.
Alex Marquez also commented on the track conditions. He said that while it’s common for Jerez to have slow-drying areas, Turn 5 has been a problem since the track was resurfaced in 2019.
Binder, who also crashed, said he reacted to Marquez falling in front of him and ended up touching a wet patch.
Vinales’s teammate, Aleix Espargaro, doesn’t think stopping the race was the best solution. He thinks the question is whether the race should have started in the first place.
He also mentioned that efforts were made to dry out the track before the race, but there wasn’t enough time. He thinks it’s dangerous for powerful bikes like theirs to race on slick tires when there are wet patches on the track. However, he understands that it’s difficult for race officials to control this.
