During this post-race press conference of the French Grand Prix which also brought together Johann Zarco and Dani Pedrosa, Maverick Vinales answered questions from journalists with pleasure, delighted with this victory won in the last lap.
As usual, in order to avoid any abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer you a “raw” translation of the entirety of Mavercik Vinales' comments, without any formatting.
Maverick Vinales : “I think this is the race where I must have been the strongest. In particular, during the first round, Johann was pretty incredible. I thought
“OK, his rear tire is going to deteriorate” but it never got worse (laughs). He kept a very good pace all the time and it was difficult to overtake him because he was very strong in sectors two and three, so it was difficult. Finally I had a chance in turn one, and I tried, then I tried to attack. Anyway, for 10 laps, I saw “Zarco +0.3”, “Zarco +0.3” (laughs). I couldn't believe it because I had an average 32 pace the whole time, and Zarco and Valentino were still there.
Afterwards, when I saw Valentino, I said to myself that he wanted to try to catch up with me. He did it and he overtook me, so I tried to prepare very well for the last few laps. I did my best and gave 100%. It reminded me a little of when I fought with Nico (Terol), when I was a young boy. I came back to the first sector and I saw Valentino in front, I said to myself “OK, you have to prepare very well for the last sectors”. I was right behind him in sectors one and two, and I thought “OK, I have to try to overtake”. Valentino made a small mistake and I passed him. I knew I was very strong in sector three and I tried to do my best.
Setting the best time at the end doesn't happen in a lot of races and it's really good. Today I felt really comfortable riding the bike. The team has always been incredible. She gave me very good information from the wall. I congratulate them because, once again, they gave me a very good bike. »
Did you know that Valentino had fallen?
“No, I was closing all the doors where he could overtake, so I didn’t know. You know, I also took a lot of risks because I was really attacking a lot with the front tire. And I'm extremely happy to be here, to win again, and to recover after two bad races. ".
You lead the world championship before going to Mugello…
“yes, it’s something special (laughs). But I know that Mugello will be really difficult because Valentino is very strong there, but it's a circuit that suits my riding style very well and it seems that they suit the Yamahas well too. I don't want to expect anything because I also expected something very good in Jerez, and it ended up not being very good, but I know we have a very good bike for there. Our bike is really very stable and maintains very good rear grip, so we have to take advantage of that. We have to work very hard in Mugello, and do our best. »
How did you feel when you learned that Márquez and Rossi had crashed? And what do you think about the fact that Dani is now your main opponent for the championship?
“First of all, I'm sorry for the drivers who crashed in the race because it's never pleasant to crash, and I had this very bad feeling in Austin. When I saw “Márquez OUT”, I said to myself that today was another race where I should not make the slightest mistake, but finish on the podium and try to do my best. At that moment I reduced the throttle a little but then I saw that Zarco and Valentino were attacking more and more, so I then tried to concentrate and do my best. I didn't see that Valentino had fallen until I crossed the line. You know, on the last lap, I was like “OK, he’s going to try to overtake me in the last corner” so I was preparing for the contact (laughs). But anyway, I felt very comfortable on the bike, I think I gave my best in sectors two and three on the last lap, and I'm very happy.
For Dani, wow, he had an incredible race. You know, I'm a driver who always looks at other drivers, and when I saw Dani +0.9, I thought it was Dovi, but I knew Dovi wasn't that fast, because there, the no one was close to Valentino. Anyway, he did a very good job. Already, during FP4, when we did a few laps together, he was really strong. And today he showed like in Jerez that he is also a driver who can win the championship, so we have to be careful (laughs). »
A difficult weekend in Jerez, much better here: is it just a question of grip or have you made any changes to the balance of the bike?
“Well, I can say that the bike is really similar. This is the same bike we used at the Jerez Warm up. So (laughs), it's exactly the same bike as in the race in Jerez. Honestly, the rear grip was quite similar to Jerez, as we had very good grip, but the front was completely different. Today I had a very good feeling with the front from start to finish. You know, I felt like I was at the limit but I had good grip throughout the race even though keeping that pace wasn't very easy. So (since Jerez) I think it has changed a lot, it's like the sensations are the same as in Argentina and Qatar. I think we have to continue like this because we have always done a good job with the settings. I felt solid at the end, and that's something very positive. »
You say you were preparing for an attack on Valentino. Where exactly were you thinking of doing it?
“On this track you have a lot of possibilities in the last lap. I was preparing to attack the braking of turn #8, because it is very important at this point. But anyway, when I saw that Valentino was making a little mistake, I said to myself “Okay, now’s my chance.”. Throughout the weekend, I was very strong in sector three, and I said to myself “if I get out of sector three first, I can do it”. And you know, when I saw he was making a mistake, I braked as late as I could and threw the bike inside. I took a lot of risks because I had maximum braking pressure and I was very inclined. But it was good for me because the bike had good front grip. On the last lap, I was waiting for contact (laughs) because I knew Valentino didn't want to give up. Any time he would have released the brakes, but I closed the door. Finally, when I crossed the line, I felt very happy to win here at Le Mans. It felt like my first victory in 125cc, and it's something really special. »
You say that you took a lot of risks today against Valentino. Was this reasonable in relation to your position in the championship?
“Yes (laughs). When there are only two rounds left, you must achieve victory. You can't give up the slightest chance. You must attack by forcing the limits of the bike. The way I went through the first corner, the fast corner, was like qualifying: close my eyes, dive into the corner and see what happens! The bike was really good and I said to myself “OK, now I try the second turn” (laughs). I went through all the corners like in qualifying and, honestly, I was driving at 110%. I think I was riding the bike as best as I could but Valentino was very impressive because he had real confidence with the front. He was really strong in sector two. We need to look at this and see where we can improve. But anyway, when I started the last lap I said to myself “Okay, now is the time, you have to attack”. And I did it. »
This is your third victory for Yamaha. Is it the most important?
“It was a very important race today. Especially for the championship, because we took our luck and a lot of points. Our main opponent made a mistake and it was therefore very important to be able to achieve victory. But I think the most important victory of the season, so far, was in Qatar. We had a lot of pressure and we had to find something, and finally we did. Today was a difficult day and we must be very happy. You know, it wasn't easy but we took it. We had to prepare very well for the last few laps because you can always because you can always have a bit of a fight. I think my team is doing a really good job right now. They try to make me a bike that can brake really hard and that's always why I can win. So I'm very happy with that. »
