Maverick still out
Punctual as a clock, the Tech3 team statement announcing Maverick Viñales’ withdrawal has arrived again this week. The Spanish rider, former Suzuki, Yamaha, and Aprilia rider, is – according to the official version released by the team – still recovering from his injury and therefore will also leave the bike to Pol Espargaró in Austria this weekend. The test rider for the Mattighofen factory will thus have the honor of racing in KTM’s home GP.
Certainly, it is puzzling that no clear information is provided about Viñales’ situation, who has not been on track since the German weekend at Sachsenring. “The Tech3 team – reads the statement released by the team – continues to hope that Viñales will be able to return to the track when the championship moves overseas, to Japan.”
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Espargaró still the starter
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaró will have the chance to confirm the good performance shown at Misano, when he surprisingly qualified for Q2 on Saturday and managed to score two world championship points on Sunday, finishing the San Marino GP in 14th place. “It means a lot for us to have Pol with us for the home race of our parent company in Austria – observed Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon – every time he gets back on the bike he seems more comfortable and competitive, and Misano represented another positive step forward. We know we can count on his experience and professionalism and we look forward to seeing him race in front of the ‘orange army’ this weekend. At the same time, our priority remains to support Maverick’s recovery and we hope to have him back with us as soon as possible.”
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