The Aprilia rider doesn't stop. After having done a double with the victory in the Sprint and in Sunday's race in Austin, once he arrived in Jerez, Maverick Vinales achieved the second fastest time and direct passage to Q2 after completing a session in which he showed a spectacular pace, which puts him directly among the favorites for success in this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
“It was an important day for me, obviously we want to do well in Jerez. Historically this circuit hasn't been one of the best for me, but I'm in the right place with the bike: everything works, there are no secrets. I feel like I have some margin and I can't wait for tomorrow to push me to the limit,” said Vinales.
“Also, the pace was very good, it could have been improved a little, but I think there are two or three riders who made a bit of a difference. The problem is that in the tests, some start with the medium tyre, others with the soft one, and it's a little difficult to understand from the outside,” he added.
Obviously the riders that Maverick indicates as those who have the best pace with him are predictable: “Marc Marquez, who is very strong, and Pecco Bagnaia, who is strong. In my opinion both will be candidates for the front row of the grid and to fight for victory”.
Although Vinales improved his time and broke the track record (1'36″125), he did so after a crash that did not dampen his confidence.
“I was slow because I had to return to the pits. I lay down on the paint to see if it was slippery and I saw that it was (laughs), but I was very slow,” he said, downplaying the importance of the fall.
Maverick Viñales, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Considering that Maverick is getting stronger every day, the 20 points lost in Portugal due to a gearbox failure could have an impact at the end of the year.
“I don't think about it at all. Even though we always keep it in mind, so that it doesn't happen again. It's an indication to improve. When the match ended the team had their heads down and I encouraged them, I told them that there's no 'It was nothing wrong, we just had to make sure it didn't happen again. This should help us to be encouraged, because even when we have problems we fight for victory. So keep our heads high and continue.'
As for the day's program, Maverick confessed that he was focused on Sunday's race. “We worked a lot with the medium tyre, thinking about the long race on Sunday, and we also collected a lot of data with the soft tire with the other riders of the brand. I believe that for Sunday the choice for the race is the medium and for the Sprint instead the soft one,” he diagnosed.
“Yesterday we had a meeting with the engineers to see the plans of the other riders to understand if any of them intended to try the soft, because my intention today was to concentrate on the long race”, he explained, in anticipation of the expected rain for Saturday in Jerez.
As for his brand mates, Maverick believes that they have a good chance, because he knows that the bike works very well.
“Aleix Espargaro is very fast on this circuit, he always goes well here and has a great opportunity to get a good result. I also want to see the comments of Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez to understand what your sensations are, because I feel very confident I'm comfortable on the bike and I want to see if they feel comfortable too,” said the Costa Brava rider.
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