Vinales: Assen podium 'breath of fresh air'

Maverick Vinales feels he is back 'at the level of the other riders', after making progress with his early race woes at Assen.

Although the Movistar Yamaha rider dropped from sixth to eighth in the opening laps, he kept in touch with the leaders, then worked his way through the pack before taking the lead on lap 19.

After running off track in his battle with Marc Marquez, Vinales rejoined in fourth and went on to claim third position for only his second rostrum of the season. 

Vinales now holds third in the world championship, six points from Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi.

"I'm really looking forward to arriving at the Sachsenring," Vinales said.

"I think we are getting the bike ready and we're starting to see everything in a very positive way, allowing us to end the first half of the season properly. 

"We have to fight to get as many points as possible to stay at the top of the championship. 

"Fortunately, in Assen I felt very comfortable on the bike again and I had the same good feelings I've had in the past. 

"We were able to solve the small problems we were having on the first laps of the race and that has put us at the level of the other riders on the grid. 

"The podium was like a breath of fresh air and has given me extra motivation to keep at it with all my strength and give 100%, as always."

Vinales finished fourth in last year's German race, one place ahead of Rossi, but both were beaten by the satellite M1 of runner-up Jonas Folger.

"Last year at the Sachsenring I finished just off the podium with a fourth position, so this year we'll give our all to get back on the podium and continue on the good path we're on."

Yamaha has now gone 18 races without a MotoGP win.