The coronavirus crisis and the resulting confinement revealed an approach that no one really took seriously in the world of Grands Prix. These are virtual races contested by real drivers. An ersatz thrown like a bottle into the sea of despair by Dorna to keep fans interested, keep broadcast channels working and give visibility to partners. With 14 million viewers worldwide, the operation showed that in the absence of thrushes, enthusiasts made do with blackbirds. Even the pilots took it seriously. Example with Maverick Viñales…
Don't tell Maverick Vinales that doing a Grand Prix from his sofa with a controller in his hands scrutinizing his television screen is a laughable moment of fun considering what he is really capable of doing on a motorcycle. No. For the official Yamaha , participating in these virtual races means entering into a real competition: “ it is complicated. I'm more nervous than a normal race weekend » even admits the 25-year-old pilot. “ I train a lot, I spend a lot of time with the PlayStation. Even when I was injured, I played a lot of MotoGP. »
Casa Particular in Viñales is therefore not here to joke. During the premiere on the Mugello digital, he got on the podium, and at Red Bull Ring which followed, he played for victory. On Sunday, he will face Jerez and Márquez like others Quarterly et bagnaia. The list is not exhaustive. And he will sincerely aim for victory. “ Je take it seriously and I practice a lot "He assures.
Better: not only is he improving his psychomotor skills with the controller, but he has also seriously worked on adjusting his Yamaha M1 Virtual. “ You have to be very good online. If you're not good, it's impossible to go fast ", has explained Maverick Vinales. However, there is a special driving technique that he has found advantageous in virtual racing: “ I use the rear brake a lot. I put on the softest engine brake: we have four maps for the engine brake. So, I put engine brake 3. I can't do that with the real bike. »
To perform this technique, he also leaves the transmission in manual mode in addition to setting the engine brake to the level indicated above. If everyone waits to be able to return to the real slopes as soon as possible, Maverick Vinales, he fell under the spell of a PlayStation which consoles him with games.
For the Jerez event, this Sunday, there will be Marc et Alex Marquez for Honda, Danilo Petrucci for Ducati, Maverick Vinales for Yamaha, Alex Rins for Suzuki, fabio quartararo for Petronas, Tito Rabat for Avintia, Miguel Oliveira et Iker Lecuona for Tech3 which also uses the place of the official KTM team, Lorenzo Savadori for Aprilia and the latest winner, Pecco Bagnaia for Pramac Ducati. The event will be held in aid of the official MotoGP charity, Two Wheels for Life, which supports efforts in the fight against Covid-19…
