Xavi Vierge takes impressive 12th at Misano, DNF for Isaac Viñales

Tech3 Racing Team rider Xavi Vierge produced an impressive display as he closed the round 13 battle in 12th place, which marks a third point scoring finish in succession. The young Spaniard rocketed off the grid and quickly got up to speed as he completed the opening lap in 16th, having jumped up nine places from his grid position.

Vierge pushed onwards and by the third lap, he was in 11th as he targeted the top ten. Then, he was shuffled back two places a short distance later but remained focused and at the midpoint of the race, the former CEV winner was back up to 12th and involved in the duel for 11th with two other riders.

Vierge lapped with a formidable rhythm and the lap numbers counted down as he fought on. His consistency prevailed and he met the chequered flag in this placement, having notably moved up 13 places from his qualifying position.

Meanwhile, Isaac Viñales suffered with bad luck at the San Marino GP after being forced to retire in the opening stages of the challenging race due to damaging his shoulder.

The 22-year-old launched off the ninth row and he began his quest to climb through the field. By the second lap, he had jumped up to 21st, however shortly afterwards, Viñales was forced limp back to the pits and retire due to intense pain in his shoulder, which was caused by contact with another rider.

Later, an x-ray was undertaken on his arm, which revealed that no bones were broken. Nevertheless, he will seek to return at the next Grand Prix at the Motorland Aragon.

Xavi Vierge
“I am pleased with my work today after what was a tricky weekend in San Marino. Sunday is always the most important time of the event of course, and the goal was to get into the points, which I achieved. The race itself was not 100% perfect and it was tough, but I am very happy because of clinching a top fifteen finish at the Misano circuit and the Tech3 team and I found this track to be a real challenge. It is my third solid result in a row and I have equalled my best performance of the season, plus in the dry, which is more than positive. I must say thank you again to the Tech3 guys because all weekend they put a lot of effort in so at Aragon I hope we can achieve another good result like this, if not more.”

Isaac Viñales
“To be honest, I am a bit unsure about what happened in the Grand Prix today. I did not crash, but in the early stages of the race and in the 6th corner, I hurt my shoulder due to contact with another rider and I could not move my arm because I was in a lot of pain. After I made it back to the pits, I had an X-ray and the good news is that there aren’t any broken bones, but it feels like I have repeated trauma on the shoulder. After the Silverstone GP, I had pain in the same place on my shoulder and I couldn’t move my arm for a few days. So now I play to relax and recuperate as much as possible in the next week.”

Source: Tech3