Third in FP1, sixth in FP2, third in FP3 and sixth in FP4, Maverick Vinales has never left the first two virtual rows since his arrival in Aragon.
Better, he established himself as the best of the “non-Marquez” during qualifying, despite a circuit with some very tight turns and relatively high temperatures, two characteristics that his Suzuki GSX-RR does not usually like.
But it has visibly evolved, and if further proof was needed, we can refer to its top speed, 330 km/h, exactly like the Yamaha and the Honda, with only the Ducati remaining superior.
Maverick Vinales spoke during the post-qualifying press conference which also brought together Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Sam Lowes and Enea Bastianini.
As usual, in order to avoid any abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer you a “raw” translation of all of his words.
A good day for you…
“Yes, of course, I am very happy with this second position. Honestly, I felt really good on the bike. It's not the best track for us, because there are a lot of slow corners and it's difficult for us to turn the bike, but anyway, we found a good set-up. Of course, tomorrow we will try to take another step, to try to be closer to Marc.
I am very happy and confident that we can have a good race tomorrow. »
It will be difficult to choose your tires in the morning for the afternoon…
“Yes, of course, in these races we are always at the limit to decide which tires we are going to use, but we are nevertheless quite clear; we will use the hard front tire if the temperatures are high, because that is what I feel most comfortable with, and with lower temperatures we will see. But regardless, I'm confident with both tires.
For the rear, it will be difficult at the end of the race. »
