Heaven has decided so. Maverick Vinales, without fighting, overcame the adversity of MotoGP to be given the keys to the starting grid of the first race of the season at Qatar. His first pole position with the Yamaha, and even his first leading position at all. During the tests, he showed that this performance was not usurped. But the hardest part remains to be done.
And the hardest part will be to remove this doubt present in everyone's minds: what is the purist worth? Maverick Vinales in a street fight? Because that’s what awaits him tomorrow. A virile melee where there will be no prisoners. And to put it to the test, we couldn't find anything better. He will have to face not one resized warrior, but two.
Because in the fairing against fairing joust, Marc Marquez et Andrea Iannone are what is best. We will not recall their moments of glory with their direct opponents and even their teammates. So against Casa Particular in Viñales who has been around them since the start of the trials, it smacks of hazing.
Suffice it to say that the Yamaha official will have to make a successful start and quickly escape to avoid falling into the sharp claws of these two stubborn people: “ I will attack from the given start » announced the teammate of a Red tenth, during the press conference. “ Because there are going to be a lot of drivers ready to fight. There will be Márquez, but also Dovizioso and I am convinced that Rossi and Iannone will also be there ».
Beautiful people then: “ I know I have a good pace and I look forward to the warmup with confidence. But I'm a little disappointed not to have had the opportunity to ride with the race settings. Hopefully the weather calms down. We will make some adjustments depending on the grip ».
The adversaries will during this time have one objective: to prevent Casa Particular in Viñales to take your own pace. By all means… Iannone also warned: “ everything is possible during the race "...
#QatarGP J3: MotoGP Grid
1. Vinales (Yamaha) 1:54,316 min
2. Iannone (Suzuki) +0,532 sec
3. Marquez (Honda) +0,596
4. Zarco (Yamaha) +0,692
5. Dovizioso (Ducati) +0,726
6. Redding (Ducati) +0,769
7. Pedrosa (Honda) +0,797
8. Folger (Yamaha) +0,892
9. Crutchlow (Honda) +0,895
10. Rossi (Yamaha) +1,098
11. Petrucci (Ducati) +1,119
12. Lorenzo (Ducati) +1,145
13. Bautista (Ducati) +1,265
14. Baz (Ducati) +1,308
15. Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) +1,318
16. Miller (Honda) +1,643
17. Abraham (Ducati) +1,687
18. Rins (Suzuki) +1,863
19. Rabat (Honda) +2,052
20. Barbera (Ducati) +2,409
21. Lowes (Aprilia) +2,538
22. Pol Espargaro (KTM) +2,800
23. Smith (KTM) +3,338
