For his first day on the Yamaha M1, Maverick set the best time in 1.30.930, two hundredths ahead of his teammate Valentino Rossi and a tenth over Jorge Lorenzo who was debuting the Ducati.
Vinales gradually discovered his new bike and quickly showed himself at ease. By midday he was already in fourth position, which was impressive for a start. We then found in front of him pilots seasoned with their machines: Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.
Maverick progressed in the afternoon and made the most of the qualities of the Yamaha , yet very different from the Suzuki he had been riding until then. Very impressive in his style, he managed to avoid a crash at the end of the afternoon when the temperature dropped, which was not the case for several drivers who were surprised by the change in grip.
With the weather forecast to be favorable for tomorrow, we can logically expect an improvement in times. By then Vinales will have had a long debriefing with his technicians, and he will have had time to think about adapting his driver to his new R1.
Due to his contract with Suzuki which will end on December 31, Maverick could not comment on his day on his Yamaha. But his time and his broad smile were eloquent enough for us to be convinced that he was delighted with his day.
