#FrenchGP Le Mans J2: Maverick Vinales “we still need to improve”

Since his magnificent start to the season, Maverick had experienced two more difficult races in Austin and Jerez. He returned to the top in Sarthe by taking pole position ahead of his teammate Valentino Rossi and Johann Zarco.

Free practice was not very easy, when he struggled in the wet to get among the very first. In the dry, Vinales regained the superiority he had displayed in Qatar and Argentina, and he looks set to be one of the big favorites for the race.

He is currently just two points behind Rossi in the provisional World Championship standings and Sunday's race promises to be exciting.

According to Maverick Vinales, “ It was a difficult qualifying, because the track was not at its best, but anyway our bike is really good here. We knew we could do it, so I just tried to focus and use myself to the best of my ability and bring home pole position.

“We have to be really careful with the weather, we also have to pay a lot of attention if we have a flag to flag race, a wet race or even in the dry, we still need to improve. We have to work tonight and try to improve for tomorrow. »

For his team manager Massimo Meregalli, “ Today we worked perfectly for the team. It was a very difficult day, from FP3 until the end of Q2, due to the track conditions, which were constantly changing lap by lap, but for the better.

“All the sessions today were really exciting. The new tarmac offers very good grip, which adapts perfectly to our bike and our two riders have done an excellent job of exploiting this advantage to the maximum.

“They were fast and consistent in all sessions and today's results give us a lot of confidence for tomorrow's race, but we still have areas where we can improve.

“The choice of tire remains a question mark, as conditions over the past two days have not allowed us to complete an adequate comparison between all options. For this reason, the warm up will be extremely important. We'll start the race from the best position on the grid, first and second, and today Zarco makes it an all-Yamaha front row. »

Qualification results:

1. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 31.994s
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 32.100s +0.106s
3. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 32.229s +0.235s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 32.300s +0.306s
5. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 32.493s +0.499s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 32.726s +0.732s
7. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 33.119s +1.125s
8. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 33.399s +1.405s
9. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 33.517s +1.523s
10. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 33.629s +1.635s
11. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 33.756s +1.762s
12. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 33.955s +1.961s
13. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 32.415s
14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 32.484s
15. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 32.695s
16. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 32.830s
17. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 32.844s
18. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 33.187s
19. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 33.231s
20. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 33.233s
21. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 33.817s
22. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 33.875s
23. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 34.082s