Vinales “surprised” by the MotoGP test runs for a long time on an old Yamaha

Vinales finished the day 0.455 seconds behind the benchmark pace of his Yamaha teammate Fabio Quartararo in seventh, but was one of the few riders who tried consistently long runs.

The Spaniard’s rhythm was strong and Vinales, who suffered a small fall at Turn 2 on Sunday, was able to ride an M1 on the low 1:55 / high 1:54 lap, which is what he had ridden in 2020 was largely similar.

According to Vinales, his work on Sunday was more focused on his own driving style and electronic settings, and was thrilled with his pace when the track wasn’t the most grippy – which has been a key weakness for both Vinales and Yamaha in recent years.

“Well, we haven’t actually worked with the new chassis yet,” said Vinales when Motorsport.com asked him to explain where his win came from. “We just had the old package and a few general items on the second bike.

“I was very focused on the riding style, I was very focused on getting good lap times and trying not to be too stressed on the bike in order to get a good flow. And we’ve worked quite a bit with electronics, so I see a lot of interesting things.

Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“That’s why I’m positive because when the grip starts to wear off, I see a lot of interesting things about the driving style. I’m very happy with this test and can’t wait to get back on the bike next week.

“To be honest, I was quite surprised that I was able to drive 1: 54 minutes at noon, and that always remains very positive because the grip wasn’t that good, but I was able to drive pretty fast.”

Quartararo has tried more of Yamaha’s 2021 parts, including the new chassis – which seems closer in spec to its preferred 2019 version – and the carbon fiber swingarm. He admits the 2021 chassis is still difficult to evaluate, but confirmed that it still didn’t feel like the 2019 version.

“It’s still difficult to rate as we’re not sticking to the same package as yesterday, we’re still trying a lot of things, including the swingarm,” said Quartararo when asked by Motorsport.com to compare the M1 in 2021 and 2020 . “So it’s not easy to make clear comments about the 2021 chassis. [The] We still have to see Schwinge, but the feeling wasn’t the best today.

“But we have to try better and under all conditions, so we’ll definitely try again in three days.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Of course the feedback is good because we are setting a great lap time and a great pace. Obviously the bike is great, but we have to see because last year we were fast here with the 2020 bike too. These two days [off] It will be great to evaluate the data with the team and see the direction. “

He added: “It’s not the same feeling as 2019. I hope it will, but we are working on it.

“I think it’s really important because the chassis of the 2019 bike was just amazing. We are on the [right] In this way we want to go in that direction because it is clear that this was the best compromise. “