#DutchGP J1 Maverick Vinales “It was nice to feel good again”

After a first morning session devoted to settings and the choice of options, the leader of the World Championship was able to give free rein to his talent in the afternoon and he won with a good lead.

On Friday morning, Maverick continued the fine-tuning of his Yamaha which had been successfully undertaken during the Barcelona tests, after a rather disappointing Grand Prix. FP1 saw him finish in twelfth position, but it was not very worrying because the gap compared to the leader Danilo Petrucci was only 0.583.

The morning's adjustment work paid off in the afternoon, with a superb time of 1'33.130 which allowed him to open up a nice gap of 0.367 over second Jonas Folger. This time was faster than the lap record set by Marc Marquez in 2015 in 1'33.617, and it was not far from the unofficial absolute record of the circuit of Valentino Rossi in 1'32.627. For a first day, it was extremely promising.

Vinales needs to score big points at Assen as his main opponent Andrea Dovizioso has closed to within seven points of him. Maverick has three victories this year, but his poor performances in Austin, Jerez and Barcelona have allowed the Ducati rider to now threaten him.

For Maverick Vinales, “Today's sessions were good. We wanted to compare the tires and do many laps, especially with the soft, to see if they are good to last the whole race. Whether they have good potential, I don't know yet, we have to see it tomorrow. We will see in FP4, when it will be warmer, what will be a good tire for the race.

“I feel good, it’s a track that I like. The bike is working well and already since this morning we have had a good set-up for this afternoon. We recorded a lot of good information for tomorrow, especially for qualifying.

“We are trying and studying the chassis, but as I always say: when we have grip, the bike is really nice to ride. Today it was easy to ride and control, and it was nice to feel good again. »

Results of the first day:

1. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 33.130
2. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 33.497s +0.367
3. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 33.782s +0.652
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 33.790s +0.660
5. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 33.828s +0.698
6. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 33.830s +0.700
7. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 33.890s +0.760
8. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 33.986s +0.856
9. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 34.103 +0.973
10. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 34.148s +1.018
11. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 34.299
12. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 34.337s +1.207
13. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 34.491s +1.361
14. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 34.523s +1.393
15. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 34.596s +1.466
16. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 34.605s +1.475
17. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 34.617s +1.487
18. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 34.759s +1.629
19. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 34.923s +1.793
20. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 35.039s +1.909
21. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 35.185s +2.055
22. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 35.373s +2.243
23. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 36.334s +3.204