Maverick Vinales will start from pit-lane for the European Grand Prix at Valencia after being forced to take a sixth engine of the season.
Yamaha have struggled all season for reliability with its engines thanks to a faulty batch of valves in its early motors, leaving the Japanese manufacturer on the ropes in terms of remaining within the five engine allocation afforded for 2020.
Valentino Rossi retired from the Spanish GP after his engine expired during the contest while running in the top ten, while Franco Morbidelli also suffered an early exit in the following weekends Andalucian GP at the same Jerez track from an identical failure.
Vinales’ second engine was withdrawn from his pool after being sent back to Japan for investigation following Yamaha’s early troubles after it failed during practice for the Spanish GP, leaving him with only four for the remaining races.
It was then confirmed during FP2 for the European GP that the Spaniard would have to take a fresh engine for the final three contests, forcing him to take the start from pit-lane-severely affecting his title charge.
The eight-time premier class victor comes into the first of two visits to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo this weekend 19 points back from series leader Joan Mir, as well as being just four points behind Petronas SRT man Fabio Quartararo.
Quartararo was able to escape without any engine dramas across the opening set of encounters, leaving him in a decent position engine-wise heading into the final triple header set of races that will conclude the ’20 campaign.
Vinales’ penalty comes after Yamaha were found guilty of running illegal engines in the Spanish GP in the aftermath of its early engine problems, the marque receiving a 50 point deduction in the constructors standings-dropping them behind Ducati and Suzuki as a result.
In addition, Yamaha’s factory organisation and the Petronas SRT satellite squad both lost points in the teams championship they earned from the Spanish GP, the former dropping 20 points while the latter lost 37.
All four of Yamaha’s pilots escaped any punishment though, meaning a riders title charge is still firmly possible for Quartararo, Vinales and Alcaniz GP winner Morbidelli.
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