During this post-race press conference of the Italian Grand Prix which also brought together Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci, Maverick Vinales answered with pleasure the journalists' questions, delighted with this second place which increases his lead in the championship. world.
Throughout his responses, we discover a Maverick Vinales who was quite marked by his fall on Friday, but who thinks above all about the championship and does not make winning his priority. Except that Barcelona is looming on the horizon…
As usual, in order to avoid any abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer you a “raw” translation of all of Maverick Vinales' comments, without any formatting.
You come second and increase your lead in the championship. But we had the impression that you would have wanted to win the race…
“I'm very happy to be second because today was a difficult day. After the crash on Friday afternoon, I was lucky enough to escape without anything serious so yesterday I was happy too. Today I tried at first. I did a lot of laps in 1'47 to push as much as I could, but Dovi was really strong today. He gave his best. I was happy with my bike. You know, I'm a driver who always prepares the last six or seven laps to attack again. But today I thought a lot about the championship and I thought 20 points were more important than 25.”
And now, Barcelona: a very important race…
" Yes. You know, it's always a special circuit and very good for me, for my riding, and I hope also for the bike. We are in a good period. We're doing good things and we have plenty of tweaks, in case one doesn't work. And we will be very motivated. As I said at Le Mans and here, we are at a very good level at the moment and we just have to continue like this and score as many points as possible every weekend. »
Do you have an explanation for the fact that the hierarchy changes enormously depending on the circuits?
“I think it's always difficult because at Le Mans the track had very good grip, so the Yamahas worked very well. Here we had a little more problems with the grip but we modified the bikes a lot, and in the end we were able to keep very good grip. It also depends on the teams and the feeling. In Jerez it was almost impossible to go fast but here I felt really good. They are two different tracks, with different tires, but where I feel good on the bike. We just have to hope to stay on the podium, it will be very important for the rest of the season, so we have to be smart and also smart about tire choice. »
Did you expect to have this much lead in the first third of the championship, and are you starting to think this will be your year?
“It’s hard to think that. Making pole positions, winning races and being on the podium is always hard to believe, but when you have a goal, you have to believe in yourself, in the team, in the bike, and give everything 100%. . On Friday we suffered a bit because of the crash, because we always want to give our best, even when we are not in the best condition. We want to be at the top of the rankings, but sometimes it's better not to give 100% all the time to avoid falling. I don't fall very often but when I do it's a big fall so I'll try to be smart about that too. I will try not to make any more mistakes like I did on Friday because I was lucky enough to escape. When I arrived at the box, in our office, the arm was really ugly (laughs). Alex, who is here, didn't want to let me go back on track because it looked like my bone wanted to come out of my arm. In the end, it was just the muscles. So I’m pretty happy (laughs). »
For the championship, do you see one opponent more dangerous than the others, or do you consider them all the same?
“Now we have to watch Andrea because he is second in the championship. What I said is that we need to focus on ourselves. We know we are strong enough all the time. And we must progress. We have to improve in each race and I also have to improve my driving style and my level. So in my opinion, we currently have a lot of opponents. We have Valentino, Dovi, Marc, Dani. They are still there, so we have to continue like this, be really smart, and when we have a chance to win, we have to take it. Its very important. »
Next week, at home, will it be the Grand Prix with the most pressure?
“I always like going to Montmelo. It's a circuit that I really like. I had quite a bit of success there. I won once and I made a lot of podiums and, in particular, I feel very comfortable with all the fans. This support is something I appreciate and it gives me extra motivation. For me, it's not extra pressure but it's more extra motivation, and you know, more desire to win. »
Photo credit: MotoGP.com
Grand Prix results:
1- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP
2- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.281
3- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 2.334
4- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 3.685
5- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 5.802
6- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 5.885
7- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 13.205
8- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 14.393
9- Michele Pirro – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 14.880
10- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 15.502
11- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 22.004
12- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 24.952
13- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 28.160
14- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 30.676
15- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 30.779
16- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – + 42.306
17- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 46.294
18- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – + 50.731
19- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 50.740
20- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 50.897
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 105 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 79
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 75
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 68
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 68
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 64
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 46
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 42
9 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 41
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 40
11 Scott REDDING-Ducati 30
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 30
13 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 25
14 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 21
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 19
Learn more at https://www.paddock-gp.com/italiangp-motogp-valentino-rossi-verre-a-moitie-vide-a-moitie-plein/#r4sdxtwwXPsXRGzR.99
