Vinales was given a drive through to start at the Circuit of the Americas, but served a long lap penalty first and dropped out of the top 10 before going down the pit lane as well.
It was the second time a rider wrongly served a long lap penalty since the penalty was introduced in Qatar, where Romano Fenati did the same in Moto3 racing.
Vinales cited the security commission’s talks about changing the punishment of a transit sparked by the controversy over Cal Crutchlow’s similar punishment in Argentina as the reason for his misunderstanding, but insisted that it was all his fault.
“We thought it was officially nothing. It was just that I got it wrong, it was all my fault,” he said.
“We were so close to get a good start and at the start I just went full throttle, okay for the first two or three seconds and then started moving at the last moment.
“I didn’t let go of the clutch, nothing. At least the good point, I overtook a few drivers at the beginning. That was the positive.
“I get the penalty a little wrong, I get a lot of seconds, then it was a good comeback.”
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Joan Mir also competed in Austin and Crutchlow was punished for the same offense in Argentina, an otherwise rare penalty imposed three times in two races.
When asked if the race controls have become stricter with regard to starts, Vinales said: “No, not strict, after all, it’s the same. I move. If you move, you get through.”
“If you gain time at the start, you have to drive through, there are no excuses.”
Despite the penalty, Vinales said he had a strong race as he recovered to 11th place.
“It was a good race for us here this year, we are showing really good pace. After the passage I was able to drive in 2m04s without any problems,” he said.
“I wasn’t expecting to finish 11th because I was so far from the guys, but I caught 2-3 seconds per lap.
“Wasn’t bad, I rode well and felt good on the bike. If I saw myself up front, I could go faster, but we can’t change that way, we just have to think about Jerez.”
Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images