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Shortly after crossing the line, Maverick Vinales stopped track side to look at the state of his rear tyre. A bitter Sunday for the Spaniard, tenth in the end and more than twenty seconds behind Andrea Dovizioso, who now lies just seven points behind him in the championship
“I honestly can't explain what happened – he commented - this morning I was lapping in 1’46” with the used tyre, while in the afternoon I was a second slower with the new tyre, even risking a crash. The problem definitely isn't the bike – he stated - our frame has always been competitive in previous races such as Le Mans or Losail.
Only one aspect encourages him at the end of the race.
“I think I was lucky anyway, because without Petrucci's crash and Aleix' breakdown I would have been further back. This race will definitely motivate me ahead of the next ones– he warned - but at the same time it's a drama, because I go home without any answers”.
Maverick can't relax, because today the M1 appeared to be a distant relative of that seen in previous races.
“I've always pushed in the same way, in Qatar, at Rio Hondo, but today I'm further back. I didn't have the usual sensations with the Yamaha, luckily I haven't lost the championship lead. I have to say it's frustrating to ride like this, because you can't be aggressive and have to manage the situation”.
Do you think not having tested at the track, like Honda and Ducati, made a difference?
“It's not a matter of having tested or not tested as Michelin said. We didn't test at Mugello either but were close to the leaders. Cal also had the same problem as me”.
You're not worried that by saying these things, Michelin might penalise you?
“Any worse than this...”
Tomorrow he's back on track for testing and manages to crack a joke.
“I'll be first or second as always (he jokes)”.
In the meantime, Dovizioso and the Ducati are coming.
“The Ducati has proved to be fast and competitive. We'll see how it behaves at Assen. Looking back, I shouldn't have settled for second place last week”.
