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The Saturday that ended on the Misano Adriatico track was certainly an interesting and exciting one, and one that was full of food for thought. First of all, Maverick Vinales’ second consecutive pole position. However, in the last ten occasions (out of 12 total pole positions in the MotoGP), he never transformed a start at the pole into a victory. An obvious example of this was last week’s race when Maverick started with the underdogs but finished in 6th place due to a wrong choice of tire.
“Last week, those who take care of the tires in Yamaha had advised me to use the hard, and so I did,” Maverick said at the press conference. “I wasn’t convinced that we would go well with that tire because the other Yamahas had chosen the medium, but they confirmed that the hard would be the best for my riding style. My potential was very high last weekend, but we made a mistake that made us waste a weekend. We have to pay more attention to this detail. We have to work closely with Michelin because our tire manager did not agree with their assessments and made a mistake.”
Have you already chosen the tire for tomorrow or will you wait to see what the conditions will be on the grid?
“I wanted work a lot with the medium during free practice these days . Last week, the medium degraded very quickly but, in the race, the choice of the other Yamaha riders paid off. This weekend, many will ride the soft and others the medium. I don’t think anyone will choose the hard one, and we also discarded it on Friday morning. I’m working to choose the tire for the race, and I believe that the medium will be the best tire for tomorrow.”
Yesterday you said you were going to work on the front to find more grip. Were you able to find what you were looking for?
“I focused on the front tire because yesterday I had problems and moving under braking and in fast corners. This morning, I moved ahead, and I feel very confident, especially with a full tank. This weekend, I’ve been thinking about the race all the time without focusing too much on the flying lap.”
What race are you expecting for tomorrow? The level seems very high.
“Everyone works hard in this sport. On Tuesday, the tests helped all the teams, and it showed why today twenty had a time of 1:31, while only a few had succeeded before. I expect one hard-fought race. I’ll give it my all, and if I can’t express myself at my best, I’ll try to do it in Barcelona.”
You seemed very comfortable on the M1 this afternoon. Did the test work help?
“I kept a great pace in the FP4s and didn’t even want to push too hard for fear of getting tired. I hope to be able to do the entire race at that pace tomorrow, but I must say that the work done in these days with the team has been incredible even if tiring. Finally, the qualifying lap was very good. I rode smoothly.”
The MotoE race has just ended. What do you think of the category?
“I saw a big fall at Turn 2. The races are fun because they’re short and everyone pushes hard but, honestly, I don’t see myself in that championship. I plan to stay in the MotoGP for quite a while.”
