Vinales grid penalty promotes Bagnaia to Valencia MotoGP pole
On Saturday at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Vinales secured his first pole position as an Aprilia rider and his first since Assen 2021, setting a new lap record. However, he dropped to fourth place in the 13-lap race after leading briefly due to his choice of the medium rear tire. During the warm-up session on Sunday, Vinales received the black-and-orange flag indicating a problem with his RS-GP. Instead of immediately pulling off track as required, he rode back to his pit box, which resulted in an investigation by the FIM MotoGP stewards. As a result, Vinales was given a three-place grid penalty for the grand prix on Sunday afternoon, dropping him to fourth position and promoting Bagnaia to pole. Bagnaia, who leads Martin by 14 points in the championship, needs to finish at least fifth in order to secure the title. Both Bagnaia and Martin carry warnings from previous races for breaking the minimum tire pressure rules, which could potentially have ramifications in the championship decider.
