Xavi Vierges’ Yamaha went up in flames – a two-tier race is on the cards

Withseven Ducatis at the front, Bimota works rider Alex Lowes crossed the finish line in eighth place in the first race at the Circuito de Jerez, over 13 seconds behind. There was no sign of Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki or BMW in the top 10.

Behind Ducati and Bimota, Xavier Vierge could have ensured that Yamaha were the third-strongest team. But on the eighth lap, the Spaniard’s R1 suddenly caught fire on the start-finish straight! Xavi managed to lean the bike against the crash barriers at the side of the track before Turn 1, where it was extinguished by the marshals.

“Unfortunately, we had a technical problem and were unable to finish the race,” reads Yamaha’s press release, describing the most dramatic moment of the race – a moment Vierge would surely have summed up in exactly those words. “I got off to a good start and was battling for a place in the top ten.”

Yamaha team boss Denning spoke plainly

As the Spaniard kept a low profile after the race, SPEEDWEEK.com popped in to see Yamaha team boss Paul Denning, who spoke plainly. “He didn’t catch fire; not even his leathers were damaged – he’s fine,” the Englishman chuckled about Vierge’s fiery moment. “It was a normal engine failure, where oil leaked out and caught fire on the exhaust. It looked much more dramatic than it was – nothing out of the ordinary. We’ve seen this before when an engine breaks down during acceleration.”

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Unfortunately for Yamaha, the engine of their best-placed rider blew up; Pata’s team-mate Andrea Locatelli finished 13th – over 29 seconds behind winner Nicolo Bulega from the Aruba Ducati works team. “This race depresses me even more than some of the others,” Denning emphasised. “And I’m not talking about Yamaha, but about the standard Alex Lowes was riding at. Given the standard they (Bimota – the author) have brought his bike up to this year, he finished eighth. That’s a joke; it’s like racing in two different classes. Let’s hope the new rules bring about a big step forward – for the spectacle. The FIM and Dorna have taken this on board; I just hope it will be enough to ensure a proper balance. But we at Yamaha also need to look after ourselves and deliver significant improvements.”

Paul Denning

Foto: Gold & Goose