Vińales Takes Top 10 Finish at Dramatic 2020 French MotoGP

It was a drama-filled Grand Prix de France at Le Mans when Mother Nature decided to soak the track minutes before the start of the main race, yet ENEOS-sponsored Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Vińales showed how tough he can battle by recovering from 20th place to finish 10th at the checkered flag. Valentino Rossi showed good potential during practice with his ability to adapt to rainy conditions, starting 10th on the grid. However a crash on Lap 1 ended his race early.

Vińales began his 100th premier class MotoGP event from P5 before officials initiated the Rain on Grid Procedure, where the race was declared wet and shortened by one lap to 26 total. He then had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the chaos at Turn 3 that took out teammate Rossi, which bumped Maverick to 20th.

With relentless focus, Vińales rode flawlessly despite tricky conditions, gradually moving up the order. During the final five laps he was part of a group of riders battling for eighth, and although he pushed to the limits, was only able to finish in 10th place.

Rossi had a good start but disaster struck at Turn 3 of the opening lap when slippery track conditions caught him out. He quickly got back up and did all he could to restart his bike but was unable to rejoin the race.

Vińales sits fourth in championship standings, 19 points from first while Rossi drops to 13th place with a 57-point gap. Yamaha remains first in the manufacturer standings but the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP lost a place in team classification and is now fourth.

NEXT RACE

Vińales and Rossi head back to Spain for the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragón, taking place October 16-18, 2020 at MotorLand Aragón.