Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi had to brave the cold and rain during the FP1 session of this morning's French Grand Prix. Although dominated by the V4s of their opponents, both drivers declared themselves satisfied.
The teammates used all the available time to test the settings of their YZR-M1s on the wet track, finishing this first session in France in 6th and 8th position respectively.
Maverick Vinales stuck to his plan established in the run-up to the weekend at Le Mans. He wanted to get a good start for the French GP, and he wasted no time in familiarizing himself with the wet track conditions. He showed great confidence and gradually improved his lap times. The Spaniard posted two provisional best laps and finished the session in sixth place, 0,376 behind the leader, with a best time of 1'44.180 set in the 19th of his 21 laps.
Valentino Rossi had initially planned to take advantage of the FP1 session to progress in working on the good feelings he had in Catalonia. But the track conditions being completely wet this morning, he had to concentrate on adjusting his bike in the wet. The Italian lived up to his reputation and once again showed his great ability to adapt to rainy conditions. He worked diligently throughout the first period and set a time of 1'44.511 on the last of his 21 laps, with the checkered flag already out, to finish the session in eighth place, 0.707 behind the head.
Maverick Vinales : " This morning, in the rain, the feeling was really good. Straight away I was able to go fast and I'm in the top 6, which is really good in the wet, and I'm also close to the guys in front. The track is very difficult, as the conditions are extremely cold and therefore it is very easy to make a mistake. Regardless, the team did a good job and we will try to repeat what we did this morning in the afternoon. If it's dry, it will be very important to take advantage of this opportunity to get into the top 10 and Q2, because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. »
Valentino Rossi: « These are very difficult conditions, because it is not only humidity, but also cold. You have to drive very slowly and be attentive at all times. But the feeling isn't too bad, I was pretty good. In the end, I had good lap times. So we still have to work, but it was a good practice session. »
FP1 classification of the French MotoGP Grand Prix:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
