SPIELBERG, Austria – Officials from Yamaha announced Thursday that rider Maverick Viñales has been suspended by the organization and will not compete in the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring this weekend.
The team has withdrawn the bike Viñales and does not plan to enter it with a different rider.
The suspension stems from the unexplained irregular operation of the motorcycle by Viñales during last weekend’s Styria MotoGP race. The decision to suspend Viñales comes following in-depth analysis of telemetry and data.
Yamaha’s officials said the conclusion was that Viñales’ actions could have potentially caused significant damage to the engine of his YZR-M1 bike, which could have caused serious risks to himself and possibly posed a danger to all other riders in the MotoGP race.
Decisions regarding the remaining MotoGP races on the schedule will take place later following further analysis and more discussions between Yamaha officials and Viñales.