MotoGP, Vinales: "I fell. I wasn't interested in a second place."

Maverick Vinales wanted to confirm his victory of a year ago at Phillip Island, but his hopes vanished at the climax. The Spanish rider managed the race until the last lap. Wen Marquez tried to overtake him, he tried to respond but unfortunately ended up falling.

So his race ended in the gravel, but he should definitely consider his glass half full.

"I'm happy because I gave it my all in every lap," said Maverick. "I'm sorry I fell, but that's okay. I was only interested in winning today. I didn't need a second place.

Maverick explains what happened.

"I knew very well that Marc wanted to pass me on the last lap. I tried to stay ahead because it would have been difficult to figure out how to overtake him again if he passed me. So I tried to prepare the third sector well. I downshifted, but I ended up falling. Unfortunately, there's little I could've done. That's how it went. But, like I said, I wasn't interested in a second place."

Vinales wants to be positive.

I'm happy because I battled it out with Marc till the end, giving it everything I had. We obviously need to improve all parts of the M1 because I think we suffered at the start, especially today."

Now Malaysia awaits him.

"It's a track I really like. It obviously won't be easy because there are long straights. This is an important aspect. I'm going there with the right motivation after this GP."

Audio recorded by Matteo Aglio