Misano Adriatico (Italy) (AFP)

Spaniard Maverick Vinales (Yamaha), who started from pole position, won the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna on Sunday at the Misano circuit, while Frenchman Fabio Quartararo finished fourth due to a late race penalty. .

In the championship standings, the Italian Andrea Dovizioso remains in the lead with 84 points, a small point ahead of Vinales and Quartararo (83), and four over another Spaniard, Joan Mir (Suzuki), second at the end of a superb comeback.

"We had prepared really well, I was very fast, I preserved my tires well at the start and I was able to attack when I had to", reacted Vinales, sixth winner in seven rounds of this MotoGP season. delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Vinales was already on pole last Sunday for the San Marino GP, but he failed to win.

"It was a lot better than last week. I'm taking the maximum points here and we have great potential for the rest of the season," added the Spaniard, a week before the 8th round of the year on the Barcelona circuit.

The Yamaha rider finished coasting, more than four seconds ahead of Mir who ended his comeback with a school double pass over Pol Esparagaro (KTM) and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha-SRT).

- Angry Quartararo -

“I'm really tired, because I gave everything today, every lap, and I'm happy because I gave 100%. At the end, I saw that I could go for the podium. is a result that we deserved, with the whole Suzuki team, ”reacted Mir, who is doing a good job in the championship.

"I struggled with my rear tire at the end, but we knew it could happen," said Esparagaro.

"I was able to attack at the start of the race, and at the end it paid off, thanks also to the penalty from Fabio (Quartararo). I did not give up, I was lucky."

The Frenchman, in a fight with Espargaro, exceeded the limits of the track several times, and even once too many after having already received a warning from the race management on his dashboard.

Furious, he returned to his stand without wanting to speak.

The big disappointment of the day may be the Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati-Pramac).

Untouchable at the start of the race, after overtaking Vinales, "Pecco", who was limping all weekend, fell seven laps from the end when he was in the lead, a big second ahead of Vinales.

The other two disappointed are veteran Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 41, who crashed early in the race, and South African rookie Brad Binder (KTM), very fast on Friday and crashed twice.

© 2020 AFP