MotoGP 2020: 'Exploded' brake unlike anything Vinales has faced before

Spielberg, Aug 23: Maverick Vinales says the "exploded" brake that forced him to jump off his bike during Sunday's MotoGP race at the Red Bull Ring was unlike anything he had previously experienced.

Vinales dropped to 10th during the Styrian Grand Prix due to problems with brake pressure, but he battled to keep his Monster Energy Yamaha bike on the circuit and attempted to claw his way back through the grid.

However, the problem appeared to return and, with 12 laps to go, he was forced to leap off at a speed of more than 220 kilometres per hour, the bike then crashing into the barriers and bursting into flames, leading to the race being red-flagged.

After the race resumed, Miguel Oliveira claimed his maiden grand prix victory following a spectacular final corner.

Vinales said afterwards: "I was quite fast, I was feeling fantastic on the first laps, I was pushing Dovi [Andrea Dovizioso], but as we don't have top speed, you can see I could not overtake.

"I overtook one time and I said, 'okay, now I can go forward in front', but then he overtakes me on the straight very easily.

"I was just waiting to get the rhythm, but then I started to lose the front pressure of the brake, I went out [of the track] one time.

"I make three laps very slowly in one minute 26, then I push again at one minute 24, then again without brakes, and then [Fabio] Quartararo, Valentino [Rossi] and [Danilo] Petrucci overtake me.

"Then suddenly, the brake was good. So, I could make one minute 22, one minute 24 on mediums and I was recovering a lot to Valentino and Fabio, but then suddenly at corner one, the brake exploded, so [it was] impossible to do anything."

Vinales added that the problem was "something I never had during all my MotoGP career".

"Maybe [the brake pressure would] go down a little bit," he said.

"I played with the lever [to adjust it], but on every lap, I was adjusting the lever corner by corner so I couldn't do nothing."