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• Yamaha's Maverick Vinales front brakes failed during the Styrian MotoGP race.
• The Spaniard jumped off his bike at 220km/h to avoid crashing into a barrier.
• The Yamaha's brakes overheated resulting in loss of pressure.
The Styrian Grand Prix was red-flagged after Maverick Vinales dramatically jumped off his bike after the rear brakes failed. Heading into Turn 1 on lap 17 Vinales' front brake "exploded" and he bailed off the bike at 220km/h before it hurtled into a barrier.
The 25-year-old's bike burst into flames after it hit the barrier. Portuguese Tech 3 KTM rider Miguel Oliveira won the 12-lap race after the restart, beating Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro on the final turn in Spielberg.
In a statement Vinales' Yamaha team said: "With 12 laps to go, Vinales had to make the brave decision to disembark while riding 220 km/h when his brakes malfunctioned approaching Turn 1. He was lucky to walk away from the incident without any injuries but had to sit out the restart as per racing protocol."
According to reports, Yamaha rider complained of brake issues at both race weekends in Austria. Viñales struggled in the race with loss of brake pressure and languished in 10th place after ten laps after starting the race in sixth.
The Spaniard raised his hand on lap 13 to signal that he was struggling with an issue and just four laps later he took evasive action at high speed to avert a serious crash.
The issue of the overheating of the Brembo brakes was raised after last weekend's race in Austria and all riders except Joan Mir and Vinales opted for the smaller pads, Suzuki's Alex Rins told Autosport.
"For sure, today's crash was amazing. I never had that feeling before, where I completely lose the brakes and have to jump off. I understand how it happened, the brake overheated, but for sure it's not a common problem. Luckily, I'm okay. This is the most important thing," Vinales said.
The Spaniard is fifth in the championship standings with 48 points, 22 points behind leader Fabio Quatararo. 2019 champion Marc Marquez was ruled for out 'two to three' months by his Honda team after fracturing his arm at the season-opening Jerez race.
The sport takes a two-break before the San Marino GP on 13 September.
