Maverick Vinales isn’t known for making powerful statements. He’s usually pretty monotonous as to whether things are going well or not. He pitted because of the sandstorm that made the Losail stretch impractical, but he was able to provide fairly accurate indications of the state of the art of Yamaha’s work.
“We worked hard and well,” was his opinion. “We understand where we are. The direction is correct and the manageability of the bike with a full tank is good too. I don’t know how we’ll do for the rest of the season. We have to wait for the first race to understand our position. But I rode with the new frame yesterday and felt comfortable from the first lap, which is a good sign. After the tests, my impressions were positive. We believe we are fast, especially at the start of the race. “
Four days of testing answered many questions, but obviously not all.
“I haven’t tried the new rear tire“States Maverick.” I didn’t have time, but the situation is good at the moment, even if everything can change in the race. The results have really motivated us. I feel ready. We have enough pace and speed. Now we have to achieve our goals. There was a lot of grip during the tests. It will be very different in the race, but the Yamaha has improved and I feel relaxed. “
No problems at all?
“We have to start faster in order to be able to keep up with our competitors. I haven’t spoken to Crutchlow. I didn’t have the time. But he does a good job because he takes a lot of pressure off us during the tests so we can focus on something else. “
If the Yamaha M1 is going well in 2021 – the unofficial one from Franco Morbidelli -, at least in terms of time, it is definitely no less important.
“The main difference between ours and theirs M1 is in the engine“, He reveals.” Franky’s bike goes better in corners, but I don’t remember well because I haven’t tried it in a long time. But we have to be able to push out of the first corner. “
The difficulty in overtaking shows in Maverick’s words.
“I couldn’t check what level we are at. This can only be done during the race because someone who ran into me may not be pushing or have a used tire. It is our weak point. We know that.”
With a lot of grip, however, the Yamaha loses less on the straights, as you can open the throttle earlier by using its cornering speed. So our impression is that these tests did not really offer a demonstration of the real numbers on the field, but for everyone and also for Vinales there are now other concerns … namely Covid, and the great opportunity offered by Qatar to itself get vaccinated.
“I am not worried about side effects, “he claimed.” I’m not afraid of the consequences and I don’t want to be one of those who get it when he’s home. So I’ll have the first dose before returning and then the second between the two grand Prix. It’s a great opportunity. There is enough time Monday through Friday to recover if I have side effects. “