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Maverick Viñales is also in the top spots this time. At Phillip Island there is no rain, so the Spaniard can finally show his claws, sending a clear signal to Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso. The points gap between adversaries is not small, but he has absolutely no intention of giving up before it’s time. At the end of the afternoon, his Yamaha is in fifth place a tenth behind the Italian’s GP17.
“This is without a doubt the best start of this season – the Spaniard commented without mincing words – A few small problems came up during the day, but we know what to do and we’ll work to solve them. In any case, I am very happy with the performance.”
The day was also conditioned by a crash on turn eight for Viñales, but without any consequences.
“Unfortunately, I pushed more than I should have when the tyre was not yet up to temperature – he recalled – I wanted to follow Lorenzo, but I ended up in the gravel. Fortunately, I was not hurt.”
In the February tests, Maverick had a little something extra with the M1, but now it is an entirely different story, also because of the tyres.
“If I were to make a comparison with those tests, the sensations are different in terms of tyres – he analysed – In fact, we need more grip on the front, so we will have to work on the electronics, although we are moving in the right direction. This is a track where I have always had a good feeling – he added – although we still need to improve on the last sector.”
The Yamaha rider’s pace in the afternoon is quite similar to Marquez’s.
“In the tests I was able to lap in the high 1’28”s, low 1’29”s – he recalled – Now I have the same pace as Marc and I am close to him. Aleix and Dovi are also not far off, so the battle is wide open.”
