MotoGP, Maverick Viñales, Yamaha: “I don’t like the new Michelin tires but I finally learned to be faster with them”

Maverick Vinales is a subtle balance that we must learn to follow... He suffers at Yamaha, a factory with which he signed very early when he was experiencing difficulties. He says he has nothing to reproach Ramón Forcada and yet he was not the last to push him out of his box. Here is his latest release: a review of the Michelin tire which, ultimately, allows him to be faster…

As a result, we almost pity the Yamaha engineers when dissecting their expertise on the M1... The teammate of Red was promised to break everything as soon as he arrived at Yamaha. Dominant during the winter tests, he quickly won three Grands Prix. Then the bellows fell again. And a drought of 28 races without success followed until the last Australian Grand Prix. Fault ? Partly because of Michelin.

But let's leave Casa Particular in Viñales explain: “ in the first races of 2017 I was able to exit the corners with a lot of speed with the old front tire. As soon as Michelin introduced the harder casing, the riding style changed. It was more about braking hard and later stopping the bike and moving on. In the end, I managed to get used to it, especially in the last races because we changed the settings quite a bit. This allowed him to drive faster lap times ».

He continues on speedweek : " I don't like this tire because I can't work well with it. But Michelin, like me, works with passion and commitment. They have the right tires until the race so we can prepare well. The tires themselves are good and lap times are fast. So I don't think they need to change them again ».

The 24-year-old pilot finishes: “ of course I don't like their operating window and the difference in quality can vary greatly from one tire to another. Therefore, this situation should not be overstated. Before, this is what I did by changing my settings. Now I don't care much because I know it only comes from a tire ».