The Spaniard felt that the pace that he demonstrated in the practice sessions was missing as his Aprilia suffered from some major rear grip issues which forced him to relinquish the de-facto second place spot to Marc Marquez.

However, despite difficult circumstances, the Spaniard was still able to home in an impressive third place, which will be a great booster for his championship chances.

“It’s been a difficult race, to be honest. I expected a much better rhythm,” said Vinales. “But now we need to check in the garage [about the pace]. However, third place, it’s [still] amazing battling against the Ducati squad.”

“Yeah, of course, I’m pleased because we were struggling. I don’t know why so we need to check the data. The Ducati today was a step ahead.”

“So we need to keep working. I would like tomorrow to take even more out of our bikes. So let’s see how we are in the race.”

“There was a lot of temperature on the rear tire. So we need to really check [for this issue]. But we must be happy because, with all the problems, still a podium. That’s amazing!”

“We’ve been riding fast, but I don’t know why [we had this issue]. I never had this issue during the weekend.”

“But during the race, the rear tire was so hot on the right side. And the reason for that is the slide. And I was sliding everywhere!”

“So I could not make my rhythm at 31’ low. But, tomorrow is another race – a long one! So we will try to be more competitive. 

“I could keep Bastianini behind. I think he was one of the fastest at the end of the race. I put two or three laps to keep him behind. So I was just trying to bring the bike home. And I didn’t reach too much [at the end]. Today was a race to try and defend, not to attack.”

“But I would like tomorrow to attack because that’s where I feel better!”