Clearly, this last Grand Prix before the summer break will have brought its share of shattering news, from the half-hearted announcement of the probable retirement of Valentino Rossi to the hypothetical departure of Maverick Viñales during the course of his contract with Yamaha.
On this subject, if everything today suggests that there is no smoke without fire, our colleagues from the British channel BT Sport questioned Mario Meregalli, the team manager of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team.
The interview, conducted mainly by Suzi Perry, took place on Sunday, a few hours before the Grand Prix in Assen.
Here is the full transcription.
Massimo Meregalli, thank you for joining us.
« I'm starting to get used to it (laughs). »
Massimo, obviously we heard this very strong rumor from Ricard Jové last night, and now in all the Spanish newspapers, that Maverick was going to break the contract with Yamaha to go to Aprilia. What can you tell us?
" Simply that we do not want to comment on this rumor today. We want to stay focused on the race we are going to have in a few hours. »
Will this be Maverick Viñales' last race for you?
" No ! That won't be the case (laughs). »
Will this be Maverick Viñales' last race at Assen for you?
" YOU you'll see. You will see for yourself. But that’s not the case, don’t worry (smiles). »
We still heard a lot of strange comments from Maverick... Is the relationship between you broken?
" For us, what he said on Sunday after the race (at Sachsenring) was only the result of his frustration, because he was really frustrated after the race. I still believe that his race was ruined by the crash he suffered in FP3. He was then unable to jump into Q2 and he had a very bad Q1. As you know, it is very difficult for him to overtake when he starts from the back. Of course, finishing last is not his position and I still say he was really frustrated. Honestly, on Wednesday, when we started preparing for this Grand Prix, we talked about this race and we analyzed some data. We also saw that he was the fastest Yamaha during the race in terms of time. So I don't think the bike was as bad as he claimed. Here, of course, we said he could start by leading FP1 and overall he did that. Of course, it's also frustrating for us to understand this kind of behavior. As he said, between the Sachsenring and here the bike has changed a little, but not to make that big of a difference. He continues to say that the grip here is great, very good, and in this kind of situation he can exploit his driving style. And probably because of his driving style, when he is in a situation where there is a lack of grip, he suffers much more than the others. »
You are a former rider with a lot of experience: You know that the team provides a bike and that it is up to the riders to use it, whether there is grip or not. As a team manager, how does it make you feel when a driver blames his team?
" Obviously, and not only me, we are not happy at all. I don't want to say something incorrect. We clarified with him before starting this Grand Prix. He said a lot of things that don't make sense to me, and that's why I continue to believe he was confused and frustrated. »
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