Relying solely on press releases to report on the situation of a driver or a team sometimes poorly reflects the reality of things.
In his, Maverick Viñales is entirely politically correct and does not dwell on the seriousness of what appears more and more to be a much worse situation than last year at the same time...
“It was a difficult test, as was the case in Malaysia, where we are working hard to try to understand what the problem is, especially regarding the braking, but we need to improve in all areas. I will continue to work and I will be 100% ready, and when the bike is ready I will attack. »
Obviously, questioned by his national press, in this case the Spanish channel Movistar, the Figueiras pilot is more verbose, as evidenced by the very eloquent video below, the relevant passages of which were translated by our collaborator Charlotte Guerdoux.
En @YamahaMotoGP siguen perdidos. A data, the best Yamaha, the satellite of @JohannZarco1. @maverickmack25 It's already clear "in my case this is tested, of course, and maybe it's with Yamaha". #ThaiTest #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/kV2Yerb7OJ
— MotoGP in Movistar+ (@movistar_motogp) February 18, 2018
Lots of concern at Movistar Yamaha. The Thailand test is now over, all that's missing is the Qatar test before closing out the pre-season, and they continue to be lost.
The best Yamaha was Zarco's satellite, second in combined times. The Frenchman's good feelings contrast with the growing concern of the official team. Maverick finished eighth, unable to improve on his time from day two. The pilot is morally damaged.
Maverick Vinales : “The truth is that I used the same electronics as yesterday and it doesn't work today. We have a handicap here that we cannot find. You have to keep working and looking for it. We've had the same problem with corner entries for months, and I can't give my best. »
Natacha Alfageme : This looks like what happened in 2017…
“Yes, it's the same thing, and they can't solve the problem. Johann is in front. It's something that's hard to believe because as Yamaha Factory riders we have a lot of trouble. »
How is your bike today different from Zarco's?
“I don’t know, ask Ramón or Yamaha. I don't think the problem is in the box, it's something more important because we tried everything on the bike, everything! Including adjustments that we would not have tested last year because it would have been impossible to work. »
Is this the worst test you have done with Yamaha?
“In my case, yes, it is by far the worst.
What I'm asking is the bike I rode the first time. When I got on the Yamaha my feeling was totally different from today. As a driver I can't give my best and when that happens you're not satisfied.
We are working a lot, more than ever, but things are not going in the right direction. Maybe we have only now realized that there is a problem… And we are a month away from the race. »
Valentino Rossi finished twelfth. The Italian felt better during the last session but he agrees with Viñales that the official team has a problem.
“Yesterday I was more worried, today I am better. During the last hour I was quite fast, lapping in 1:30.5, but on my best lap I made a mistake and went wide in the last corner. Without that, I could have done 1:30.2, which isn't bad.
The main problem is that we don't know what to expect. In the morning it's okay, in the afternoon it's not okay, and the next day it changes again... It's really like playing chess. It's a very bizarre situation that, in my entire career, only happened to me last year.
We know that we have to work, especially on the electronics, but I don't think that during the next tests we will not have any changes, only it is something that will be seen more over time, in the coming months. Until then, we must trust fate.
The same thing is happening as last year and it's difficult to develop the bike. We've worked a lot, but it's all about rear grip. With the tires, one day it's fine, another day it's not, then it's fine again the next day... I don't know. I have spoken a lot with the Japanese engineers and I think the problem may turn out to be quite clear but is not easy to solve. »
Off camera, still according to Movistar's special correspondent, Maverick Viñales even implicitly accuses Valentino Rossi of having guided the development of the M1 in a direction that does not suit him.
“I'm trying to make my Yamaha work for me. I can't ride someone else's bike because I don't ride like that. I will concentrate on my business. In 2017 I focused a lot and the bike worked. This year we're trying to share (data) a little more and maybe it's not going well. »
On the sidelines of this duo whose first dissensions we can see and who unfortunately seem to be going in circles without finding a way out of their problems while there are only three days of testing left before the first Grand Prix of the season, Johann zarco appears more and more like the enigmatic outsider who could ultimately play a role that is anything but incidental...
