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MotoGP, Viñales: I feel the title slipping through my fingers

Maverick 14th in qualifying: "With this bike it was impossible to do more. We revolutionised it but we were unable to solve the problem"

MotoGP: Viñales: I feel the title slipping through my fingers

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Viñales’ 14th place time in Motegi is not just a small obstacle, but a rock on which his championship hopes have been dashed. Of the three who are still in the title race, he is the one who needs to recover the most points, 28 on Marquez, but instead of attacking, he must hope to somehow limit the damage.

Do I feel the title slipping through my fingers? Every time I go out on the track and I’m 10th while Marquez and Dovizioso are in the top positions” is the bitter reflection Maverick is forced to make.

Then he is forced to repeat himself, because the difficulties of the 2017 Yamaha in the wet are well known and seemingly unsolvable in the short term.

We truly tried everything on the bike, making drastic changes from top to bottom, but nothing has helped. The problem is still the same: it lacks traction - he says - Today I could not do anything more with this bike. We wanted to win the title, but it is impossible like this.”

It seemed like there was a spiral of light when Rossi improved in the morning.

Valentino had surprised me. He was using a different setup and I tried it in FP4, but it did not solve the problem anyway - the unpleasant surprise - What will I be able to do tomorrow? My job. I’ll give it my all and see what I can take home. There is little I can do. After a few laps, the rear tyre is gone.

Besides the damage, there is also the salt in the open wound of Zarco on pole position with the 2016 M1. “It seems strange to you? Imagine how it seems to me. I’d rather not think about it” he ends the conversation on the subject with a joke.

However, he is still thinking about how to get out of this mess. In any case, Maverick does not point the finger at anyone.

It is hard to figure out what is happening. We have revolutionised the bike and the problem remains. Anyway, I know that the Japanese engineers and my team are doing their best, so I can’t say anything to them” he assures.

His final comment is on Rossi’s choice to use slicks on the wet track.

At the end of Q1 the asphalt was still rather wet, but sometimes it dries out very quickly. If Valentino took the gamble it’s because he saw an opportunity to exploit.”

Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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