The last time Maverick Vinales started a season by winning the opening round was in 2017 But that’s exactly what he did on Sunday, winning the first race of 2021 at Losail and showing Yamaha that it was the right thing to do to focus on his talent for another two years. The Spaniard was the protagonist of a perfect race on Sunday, duel with the Ducati riders in a very aggressive way and then set off for a solo victory.
The Losail race was too the first race for Maverick as a married man, the first as a future father and also the first without sharing the Yamaha Factory Box with Valentino Rossi, A figure that has certainly always had a long shadow in the Iwata maker’s garage.
“Basically, I think my life is great – Vinales commented – I know what I have and it is important to know that part of my life is going so well. I feel like I have the best team in the world on the track and the best person in the world to take care of me at home. This is hands down the most important step I have taken compared to 2020. I think last season was very difficult for me. Just think about what happened to me in Austria. These are things that make you think a lot, but my dream remains the same of being a champion. It is very important to find stability at home, like here in racing. I asked Yamaha for stability in the team and now everything is working perfectly. Not much has changed with Valentino’s departure. In the end it’s just in the box next to me. Valentino is a huge part of Yamaha, he will be all his life. Not much has changed. “”
Do you think there is anything else you can improve on the bike before Sunday?
“Nothing is ever perfect, it is very difficult to be on the right track. We have to improve and do something different this weekend. Not everything is the same on the two consecutive weekends. We know that we have great potential, but we also know that we can. ” improve and we have to do it. There are details to be worked out in order to be truly perfect. I think everyone will take a step forward and we will work to do the same. Improvements are always very important, I think the guys in the top ten will be even faster. In the first race, we mainly learned the behavior and wear of the tires during the race. This will surely be the area in which we will work the most “.
Vinales: “I want to wait for Portimao to say how much the M1 has really improved.”
Your M1 looks a lot more competitive than it did in 2020. Did you notice a clear step forward?
“It’s early to say how much the M1 has really improved. We’ll have to try other tracks first to see if this bike really has the potential to fight at the top to the end.” We found something that made it work better. There is no doubt about that. On Sunday I was also able to make several passes on the straight and it didn’t happen very often. The really important thing is that while our Yamaha has strengths and weaknesses, we know better and better how to work and improve it. In any case, it is too early to say that we are much stronger. We suffered a lot at Portimao last year and that could be a good test for us. I have full confidence in my bike, but I want to stay calm. I know there will be tracks that we’ll have to push harder than ever because they might not be perfect tracks for the M1. But I have full confidence in her, I just don’t want to let myself go too much. Now only the second race in Qatar counts. “”
You’re back at the top of the rankings, a situation you haven’t seen in years. How do you feel?
“First place in the overall standings does not change anything for me. I will tackle the race like every Sunday. MeIt will be important not to make mistakes in the beginning. I like standing in front of everyone because it puts pressure on my shoulders, but positive pressure. We’ll see that winning changed a lot of things for sure, but it won’t change my pace on Sunday. “”
You had some problems with the Michelins last season. What impression did they make on you in that first race?
“It’s hard to imagine how the tires can behave elsewhere. We have a lot of grip here, but I think things will work well elsewhere too. I have a lot of confidence with the front, which I will hopefully take with me next time we.” just have to stay calm in order to be able to express our potential on tracks on which we suffered from the tires in 2020. “
You didn’t get off to a good start, but you recovered quickly. This was a big change from the past.
“My start wasn’t bad, we checked the data and it was great. The problem is that our rivals are just fantastic from that point of view. Of course we still have to improve, and for example the device that lowers the front at the beginning makes a big difference. We’ve seen the Ducati get off to a much better start than 2020 and I know Yamaha is also working hard to make sure we have the same thing on the bike as soon as possible. If you start at the beginning, you can have better control of the tires and use less. But when you start from behind you have to push the tires harder to overtake, and that makes a huge difference. “”
Marc Marquez will be back in the race soon. How does that make you feel
“Nobody knows when Marquez will be back. But I think it’s a great thing for everyone, for the show. But I focus on my stuff, on being fast this race weekend. All drivers want the same when they are go out. ” on the track. “
Quartararo: “I made too many changes last week, this time I will touch the bike less.”
Fabio Quartararo did not produce a dream race in Losail like last year in Jerez. However, the Frenchman landed not far from the front and showed that he was able to reach his potential without collapsing after his tires suffered a significant drop in grip during the race. He would have liked to have been on the podium alongside Vinales, but that date just seems to have been postponed.
“To be honest, it was a very tough race – said the Frenchman. When I caught up with Miller, at first I thought I had a very fast pace, but then the tire collapsed and I decided to slow down. I’ve slipped a lot and I think how much I learned in this situation last year helped me a lot. In 2020 when I had this problem, I kept losing a lot of positions. On Sunday I did better by improving my braking, for example. It was really difficult in the race on some points, but now we have a lot of data to solve that problem. “
Do you think the M1 took a clear step forward in 2020?
“I think we have some really strong points. Our bike is really strong at some points on the track. There are corners where we can accelerate before everyone else and that helps us later. I feel good, also because I do know that I can. ” Overtake more aggressively. The motorcycle brakes very stable. I feel the front very well this year. I think that’s a very positive aspect of the season. In my opinion, the M1 will be fast everywhere. Last week we might have made too many changes on the race weekend, this time I’ll be touching the bike less. I think we’ll be quick from the start, I don’t think we’ll change the basis of the last race too much. I think it is enough to be in front. “”
This year Zarco was often among the top drivers. Two French fight each other for the podium …
“It would be nice to fight for victory in the race with Zarco and the fact that we are both French doesn’t change our approach when we’re on the track. I don’t think Spaniards or Italians care. For sure.” will both grow strong and both French will not change anything “.