Vinales out to show Assen “not a coincidence”

Maverick Vinales wants to show his Assen victory wasn’t a one-off in Germany as he still feels “like I’m still dreaming” following his first MotoGP win of the season.

The Spanish rider claimed his and Yamaha’s first win since the 2018 Australian round last weekend and hopes to carry that momentum into this weekend at Sachsenring to breathe new life into his MotoGP campaign having gone into Assen accepting his title fight was over.

Vinales says his Assen win came at a vital time after enduring a tough run of results, including being taken out by Jorge Lorenzo at the Catalan MotoGP, and is eager to keep the same working process at Sachsenring to maintain his newly-found momentum.

“After the victory in Assen I feel like I’m still dreaming,” Vinales said. “It came at a time when we needed it the most and it gave us the confidence and strength to continue working hard.

“We arrive at the Sachsenring with a high level of concentration and eager to show that what happened in the Netherlands was not a coincidence but the result of hard work.

“The Sachsenring is a good track for us, it’s a track where I'm usually fast at, so I think that we have the potential to be on the podium. I can’t wait to be back on my bike and work hard from the start of the German GP.”

12 months ago the factory Yamaha squad claimed a double podium at Sachsenring with team director Massimo Meregalli hoping the Japanese manufacturer can use Vinales’ breakthrough win to start strongly in Germany.

“Straight after the Dutch GP we head to Germany and get back on track again this weekend,” Meregalli said. “For different reasons after a mixed Assen outing, both Maverick and Valentino are extremely motivated to score the maximum amount of points at the Sachsenring.

“Last week again demonstrated how crucial it is to start off the GP weekend well, so we are determined to work hard to compete at the front again, similar to last year when we scored a double podium.

“The Sachsenring is quite narrow and it's not easy to overtake there, so it will be vital to use all the available free practice time to the fullest in order to secure good qualifying results on Saturday, in preparation for Sunday's race.”