Jerez, MotoGP, J1: Maverick Viñales describes roughly the same problems as last year…

Until this first round of the European tour, Maverick Viñales had to fight against his old demons, namely starts and the beginning of the race, whether they were missed, laborious, or even anticipated.

Since today and this first day of the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, he has also had to face those of a Yamaha apparently always looking for grip when the track reaches very high temperatures.

However, intrinsically, the M1 is far from being "on the street", as evidenced by the 3rd time achieved this morning in FP1 by the Catalan driver, less than 2 tenths from the fastest, and his 5th time, a little more slow, established this afternoon at 3 tenths from the provisional poleman. And this, without even mentioning thebreathtaking time achieved by fabio quartararo 3 seconds after the red flag...

Spearhead of Iwata's troops today, Maverick Vinales, despite all the angry gestures shown on the screens, therefore places the first Yamaha in 6th position, or 6 better than what it achieved last year at the end of the first day.

But, even if his press release is largely watered down, we feel the questioning, even the concern, emerging from a number 12 who remains very cautious about the real performance of his machine other than on one lap, on an overheated Andalusian track …

Maverick Vinales: “Overall it was a pretty good day, but, especially in FP2, I was only able to do two good laps, so I didn't have time to get into a rhythm and get used to the bike. Tomorrow it will be important to do laps and understand the tires and the settings for the race. We have some problems, so we have to continue working to try to resolve them for tomorrow. The track conditions have changed so much between FP1 and FP2 that I no longer know what to expect for tomorrow. I think a perfect tune-up for FP3 won't be good for qualifying, because the temperatures change a lot, but we'll do our best."

In front of the press, however, the line is much darker…

“You can't think about solving Yamaha's problems in just one race weekend. We struggled today, even though we are not too far from the leaders. Compared to FP1, the conditions changed in the afternoon and the bike was a disaster. Stability was lacking, we tried to make some changes, but the situation was the same. We suffered a lot because of the electronics, losing almost a second compared to the other drivers. It's hard to compromise with the bike, because I can't even stop it. This is crucial because I always ride the same way, but I have to be very careful as soon as the conditions change. I have been living with this dynamic for two years. The Jerez track is one of the worst from this point of view. Every year when we arrive here we are always in the same situation, where we have to try to find a solution as quickly as possible, because as soon as the temperature rises everything becomes more complicated. I ride differently from Valentino. The consequence, when there is no grip, is that I suffer much more than him. We must find a solution. I say this because when there is grip, I can be strong and competitive.”

Massimo Meregalli: “Today was a first exam for us. In the last two years we have had good results in the first rounds, but we struggled here in Jerez. This morning we started off well enough, but the real test came in the afternoon when temperatures soared. With the hottest conditions, during this afternoon's test session we encountered more difficulties than expected. We haven't been able to keep up the pace and apart from Maverick's fast lap, the speed is also missing. We tried most tire specs, both front and rear, which gave us an idea of ​​what works and what doesn't for us. Expectations for today were better, but at least the drivers reported the same issues, so the whole team can now join forces and work together on a solution. We are confident that we can prepare a package for FP3. This session will be very important to enter Q2.”

New aerodynamic appendage on the Yamaha:

FP2 Ranking MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez: 

FP1/FP2 Ranking MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez: 

Credit rankings: MotoGP.com