MotoGP Americas: Rossi, Vinales play down qualifying quarrel
Yamaha MotoGP team-mates Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales have play❀ed down a qualifying quarrel at Circuit of the Americas.
During an early hot lap, Vinales caught a slower moving Rossi on the inside of Turn 19. The pair came close to contact at the apex, with Vinales force🔜d to back off before shaking his fist in frustration.
The world championship leader, unbeaten as a Yamaha rider after two rounds, then illustrated his displeasure directly to Rossi as they slowed dow🧜n at the end of their first qualifying run.
Vinales makes clear to Rossi he's not happy with theꩲ ear👍lier incident. Q2 -- ltxcn.top MotoGP (@crash_motogp)
But Vinales had calmed down by the end of the session, in which he finished second to Marc Marquez, with Rossi claiming the final front row place.
"Well let's say it's something that happens on the track," he said. "I was on a good lap, Valentino didn'🌌t see me... It's difficult to understand the situation. Anyway, it happened and it's normal.
"It can happen with Valentino or many other riders, because when you are on a good lap you are trying to finish it. There were a lot of people 🃏in that sector. Anyway I'm happy. We did a great job and have worked hard; today I took the 100% from the Y♔amaha."
Rossi, who has been on both sides of similar situations with former team-mate Jorge L𝔉orenzo, said he simply hadn't seen Vinales.
"Sincerely I don't see nothing and I haven't had time to watch t♍he practice [on TV] yet," Rossi commented. "We don't touch, because I don't feel nothing. But after the finish line I see Maverick say something to me and I think, 'f**k! What's happened?'
"Maybe the problem was that a lot of riders push at the out-⛦lap and when you arrive close to T4 they slow down. So maybe I slow down also, but I didn't see Maverick behind me unf🃏ortunately."
Vinales and Rossi are currently first and second in the world championship, Theꩵ Doctor trailing his young team-mate by 14 points after 3-2 race finishes compared with a perfect 1-1 for the Spaniard.
Pet🧔er has been in♔ the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
