Winner of the first two Grands Prix of the season, Jorge Lorenzo's successor at Yamaha did not have a very easy day this Friday in Sarthe. In the first session, he set the tenth time, which could allow him to qualify in the top 10 in free practice for Q2, depending on the weather.
On Friday afternoon in heavy rain, Vinales finished in eighth position. If Valentino Rossi used the new “aero” fairing with the fins somehow inside, Maverick preferred to use the classic fairing.
The drivers came to carry out a test day on the Bugatti circuit at the invitation of Michelin, in order to discover the characteristics of the new asphalt. Vinales was much more comfortable on this occasion in the dry than he was this Friday in the wet.
This could be useful to him on Saturday morning during the third free practice session, when he will have to qualify directly for Q2. On the other hand, the situation risks being more delicate in the afternoon during the qualifying session, with the weather forecast predicting rain.
According to Maverick Vinales, “ For me it was a good day, because we were able to improve the bike a little in the rain and I already feel comfortable with it. I think step by step we are getting better in the rain.
“In the end I didn't put the soft tire on because it was too late, I could only do two laps with the slicks. For me, at the end of the day, the position doesn't matter, it's the feeling in wet conditions and the fact that we have improved the bike that counts.
“I hope it stays dry so we can work well. Our bike works well here, so we can make a good result again.
For Team Director Massimo Meregalli, “ The conditions this morning were exactly what we were hoping to avoid. The track was still drying, which meant we couldn't gather very good information, as we did in the afternoon session on the fully wet track.
“Even though it doesn't look like it will rain over the next couple of days, it was important to ride in the wet conditions as it allowed us to take another step forward in terms of tuning for the rainy conditions.
“We expect it to be dry from now on and we will start FP3 with the information we gathered two weeks ago during the Le Mans test, especially regarding Maverick. Vale will continue to evaluate the two different settings he compared in FP1, which gave him a good impression. »
Ranking :
1. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 37.467s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 38.755s +1.288s
3. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 39.248s +1.781s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 39.607s +2.140s
5. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 40.427s +2.960s
6. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 40.528s +3.061s
7. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 40.817s +3.350s
8. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 40.894s +3.427s
9. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 41.024s +3.557s
10. Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 41.307s +3.840s
11. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 41.562s +4.095s
12. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 41.644s +4.177s
13. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 41.854s +4.387s
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 41.871s +4.404s
15. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 41.887s +4.420s
16. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 41.947s +4.480s
17. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 42.040s +4.573s
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 42.094s +4.627s
19. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 42.243s +4.776s
20. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 42.891s +5.424s
21. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 42.953s +5.486s
22. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 43.114s +5.647s
23. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 43.519s +6.052s
Photo © Yamaha
