MotoGP Gossip: Social media shows its ugly side as Vinales deletes twitter…

Race winner at the 2021 MotoGP season opener in Qatar Maverick Vinales has deleted his twitter account following the Portuguese Grand Prix, after a fake report in Spain sent the social media platform into a frenzy, and not a pleasant one. 

Social media platforms can be a great way for professional athletes to interact with fans and give glimpses into their life, however, it can sadly lead to negativity and abuse being placed in the direction of others as Vinales encountered. 

This was the case for the Yamaha rider who has over 363,000 followers on Twitter. A fake report surfaced after the Portuguese Grand Prix, which supposedly said Vinales was so outraged by Dorna for his cancelled laps during qualifying at Portimao, that he threatened to retire. 

The news was completely fake, as Vinales addressed it with a laugh before saying: "It’s fake, we all have to thank Dorna for the championship it’s giving us. I’m not looking for excuses, and I always tell the truth," - were several of the responses by Vinales. [Gpone.com] 

However, this didn’t stop the abuse from coming as the Spaniard elected to delete his account.

With round three of the MotoGP season in the books, riders and teams head to Jerez in just over a week for round four. But looking further down the year, continued speculation remains about some of the overseas races. There are 19 rounds scheduled for the 2021 season, while Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta is hoping a minimum of 18 take place. 

This is because rounds in Asia and Australia are still yet to be secured. Speaking to Speedweek, Ezpeleta said: "Double events are also possible in 2021. We cannot rule out anything for the time being. The overseas events at the end of the year have not yet been definitively confirmed. We will have clarity there by July. If certain races are canceled, we will think about double GPs." [Speedweek.com]

One round that was not on the calendar last season, and does not look to be in good shape for 2021 is Argentina - which alongside COTA (Circuit of the Americas) does not have a date at the moment, and therefore is not on the provisional list as they continue to suffer from Covid-19 infections. 

Overseas races will only take place if health authorities allow all spectators to attend, otherwise the Dorna fees for the GP event cannot be paid.

Finally in this week’s column, Jorge Lorenzo was involved on a show in Italy that premiered last night called La Iene, where he was pranked by Niccolo Torielli, as they make it seem as though Lorenzo’s Lamborghini Aventador Roadster 63 car goes missing which is number zero of 63 made in the world. 

The former five-time world champion goes on a hunt for the car getting more and more angry as it goes on. The video is only in Italian, but presents an idea of the storyline involved. [Iene.mediaset.it]