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MotoGP, Viñales: I am leaving Suzuki with a smile

A. Espargarò: "I expected something more. I am sorry to bid Suzuki farewell without having entirely completed my job"

MotoGP: Viñales: I am leaving Suzuki with a smile

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At Valencia Viñales concludes his adventure with Suzuki. The Spaniard had dreamed of finishing third in the Championship, but there was no chance at the Ricardo Tormo in the face of Jorge Lorenzo’s dominance.

Maverick finished fifth behind Valentino Rossi, his future teammate at Yamaha. During the honour lap, the Spanish rider chose to honour the memory of Luis Salom, who died tragically on the Friday of the Barcelona round, waving a flag with the number 39 for the crowd to see.

“To be honest, I expected something more. In fact, I thought that a podium finish was feasible, but I did not have the pace. At the start I tried to push, but I struggled a lot.”

The time has come for you to say goodbye as well.

“In these two years we have done some excellent work with Suzuki. If I think about the past season, we were able to take big steps forward, showing that we can consistently battle for the podium.”

There is a pinch of bitterness because of this epilogue.

“I am leaving with good sensations, since I worked with some wonderful people, of whom I am very proud.”

Three positions behind his teammate, Aleix Espargarò, who is also in his last race with the Japanese team before beginning his adventure with Aprilia on Tuesday.

“It was an uphill start and then I was forced to make up several positions, struggling more than I should have. It was really difficult to overtake. I did not want to take any excessive risks at the beginning of the race. I was also struggling with something at the front, but I was able to keep a good pace anyway.”

How do you judge eighth place?

“I think the result is positive, although I definitely could have done something more.”

The time for farewells has come for you as well.

I am sorry to leave this family, since we had a very ambitious project. In these two years I have given 110%, putting forth my best efforts. I regret saying goodbye without having entirely completed my job.”

Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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