Maverick Vinales he started third and finished third. A consistent Sprint for the Aprilia rider, the first to cross the finish line not riding a Ducati. The Spaniard was aiming to put in a leading performance, but it was impossible to do more than that.
However, Maverick is aware and confident about what he demonstrated in the afternoon of the TT.
“At the start of the race I tried to do my best – he began – I wanted to try, but Pecco proved he has a superior pace. We must be happy with the result even if we are not satisfied, given that we wanted to fight for the victory. We definitely need to take a step forward for Sunday’s race, even if it won’t be easy. That said, we need to stay focused and ready for the race.”
As mentioned, Maverick was the first non-Ducati rider to the finish line.
“If there were no Ducatis I would win the World Championship (smiles). The fact is that I want more, because I’m happy but not satisfied. I have to try to help the team improve because it’s not enough. Tomorrow will be a fast race and we need to understand which tire to use because that will be the key.”
There is then an aspect that Maverick underlines.
“Unfortunately, up until two races ago, I continued to experience vibrations while here in Assen I didn’t encounter any such problem. We must therefore work to safeguard the tires because when I experience vibrations the tire wears out quickly and my race ends in a few laps.”
Vinales’ attention then returns to the race.
“I thought I could compete with Martin, but in the end there was no need to take any risks and third place was the maximum. For sure I rode well, the bike worked well and I couldn’t do more than that. The Ducatis have a better package, even though I had a good pace Pecco was faster. I think it was evident.”
Despite this, Vinales does not want to give up before time.
“I have an idea for tomorrow and I’ll try it. If 70% of the grid were to use the medium tyre, I think it could change the perspective of the race.. Unfortunately with the soft I suffer in the final stages, in fact I struggle to be precise without being able to express the maximum potential of the Aprilia. Having said that, I think that for tomorrow I will use the medium”
Maverick is therefore ready for the next challenge.
“My mentality is to stay there, close to the best group and try to compete. We will see”.
