With three third places in the last four races, at Silverstone, Misano and Thailand, Maverick Viñales has seriously confirmed his option for the final third place at the end of the season, for which he is currently fighting with Álex Rins and Danilo Petrucci. But the danger could well come from “El Diablo”…
Fabio Quartararo has 143 points compared to 163 for Maverick Viñales with four Grands Prix remaining. Two weekends ago, Viñales was on the podium in Buriram (with Fabio, incidentally), to celebrate his fourth third place and sixth podium of the season. Thanks to this good result, he currently occupies fourth place in the Championship standings with a delay of 4 points on third Alex Rins and a lead of only one point on fifth Danilo Petrucci.
But the threat for the final third place could come from Nice, with Fabio who has been on the podium 5 times in the last 9 races, pushing Marc Márquez to his limits in Misano and Thailand. Quartararo is now only 2 points behind Valentino Rossi in the provisional standings of the World Championship. For Vinales, “We are really doing a good job at Yamaha, and I also think that the fact that Fabio is fast is positive. It motivates us and makes us stronger to know that a Yamaha is in front, and that's always positive. »
Maverick has been on the podium four times at Motegi, securing second place at the Japanese Moto3 Grand Prix in 2012 (on a Blusens Avintia Team FTR Honda) and 2013 (on a Team Calvo KTM), a second place in Moto2 in 2014 (on a Kalex from the Sito Pons team, Paginas Amarillas HP 40), and a third place in MotoGP in 2016 (on Suzuki).
According to Maverick Vinales, “I actually really like Motegi as a track. I always like to push, so I expect us to be good this weekend because it's a track where I'm usually fast. »
“Last year the race was difficult, but at the time we were at a point where I didn't feel good with the bike. »
“At the moment I feel incredibly good with the bike and I can push a lot to set good times. We'll see, but anyway, I'm going to insist. »
To Massimo Meregalli, Team Director, « The Japanese GP is always an important round for us, as it is our manufacturer's home race. »
“It's also the start of the triple confrontation: we will have three GPs in three weeks, which can be very demanding, so we have to stay 100% focused and also show physical and mental endurance as a team. »
“Motegi is not traditionally an easy track for us, but we are looking forward to starting work on Friday, as we are determined to put on a good show for the Japanese fans, who are always full of support. »
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
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For those who want to know the Twin Ring Motegi circuit better, take a look at the eLap of Lorenzo Daretti, rider of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP eSport team:
Photos © Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
