MotoGP: Viñales and Michelin's dream Austin weekend

14/04/2024

The Red Bull Americas Grand Prix – Round 3 of the 2024 FIM MotoGP^TM World Championship – produced a clean sweep for Maverick Viñales. Not only did the Aprilia Racing rider win both Saturday's sprint and Sunday's grand prix in impressive fashion, but he also posted a new track lap record for Austin, qualified on pole position and pocketed the fastest race-lap. Last but by no means least, he established a new shortest race-duration benchmark for the Texan fixture, aided by the impeccable grip and consistency of his MICHELIN Power Slicks. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati Team) were second and third. Read on to find out more about what happened in the USA...

A perfect weekend for Viñales saw him qualify on pole after shaving a second off the previous lap record for Austin. Racing on medium MICHELIN Power slicks front and rear, he completed the first of the grand prix' 20 laps in ninth position, but a determined effort helped him to make spectacular progress. Making maximum use of his tires' grip and constancy, he appeared in front on Lap 13. Fully confident in his choice of compounds, he beat the previous race-lap record for the circuit next time around, then posted a sequence of quick laps to add a new shortest race-duration record to his list of achievements.
Viñales is the first MotoGP^TM rider to win with three different bike manufacturers (Suzuki, Yamaha and Aprilia).
On Saturday, he scored a lights-out to checkered flag victory in the sprint race, completing the 10 laps seven seconds faster than in 2023.
Rookie Pedro Acosta's stylish performance harvested second place on the same tire compound combination as Viñales. It was his second podium finish in a row.
Enea Bastianini (medium and soft MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear) ended up third, ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Three different bike manufacturers were involved in the podium celebrations.
The MICHELIN Power Slick range took Austin's selective characteristics and bumpy surface in its stride, allowing four riders to better the former track lap record during Friday's Free Practice. Twelve riders improved on 2023's benchmark in Qualifying, with Viñales posting a 2m00.864s.

For the grand prix, the riders opted for either the soft or medium rear Michelin, with both specs finishing in the top three. The entire field chose the medium front, however, and its grip and consistency over Sunday's 20 laps gave the riders the confidence they needed to produce a high number of passing moves in the course of the race.
Jorge Martin (80 points) continues to top the provisional championship order, tailed by Bastianini (59) and Viñales (56).
Next round: Gran Premio de España, Spain (April 26-28).