Maverick Viñales during practice in Assen (Ansa)
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20 August 2021Yamaha and Maverick Viñales have decided to "mutual agreement to anticipate their separation", putting an immediate end to their previous agreement to conclude the contract at the end of 2021.
This was announced by the Japanese company in a statement. Relations had deteriorated after the Styrian MotoGP Grand Prix: Viñales was suspended from the next Austrian GP on charges of committing actions "which could potentially have caused significant damage to the engine of his YZR-M1", with the risk of causing "serious risks" for himself and "perhaps also for all the other protagonists involved in the race".
In the past few days, Viñales was officially transferred to Aprilia starting in 2022, with an annual contract and an option for another year.
"At Assen Yamaha and Viñales had already announced a joint decision to discontinue their original 2021-2022 program and end it at the end of 2021," recalls Yamaha motor racing CEO Lin Jarvis. But, he explains, "unfortunately at the Styrian gp the race did not go well or did not end well. Consequently, after a deep reflection on both sides, a shared decision was reached that it would have been better for both sides to anticipate the race. end of the partnership. The early separation will allow the driver to be free to follow his chosen future direction and will also allow the team to focus its efforts on the remaining races of the 2021 season with a replacement driver, yet to be determined. "
Expressing "sincere gratitude" to Viñales, Lin Jarvis recalls "the work done by both sides in the four and a half years spent together, which brought us eight race wins, 24 podiums and two third places in the 2017 and 2019 drivers' overall standings. ".
Along the same lines, in the press release, the comments of the Spanish rider, who adds: "I am deeply grateful to Yamaha for the great opportunity. I am also grateful for the support they have given me during these four and a half years of racing and I will look forward to the results we have achieved together. I will always have great respect for Yamaha and wish them the best. "