Vinales: We have to make most of Misano, Catalunya

A shocking brake failure last time in Austria means that Maverick Vinales, having taken a strong 40 points at the opening Jerez MotoGP rounds, has managed just eight points in the three races since.

That's also dropped Vinales from second to fifth in the world championship, 22 points behind fellow Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo.

The Spaniard says his top priority at Misano is to claw his way back up the championship order, for which podiums will be required.

"I've used the two-week break well to prepare for the races here in Misano. I'm in a good shape, both physically and mentally, so this weekend we will be pushing hard again," said Vinales, who finished a close third behind Marc Marquez and Quartararo at Misano last season.

"We will completely focus on improving our championship classification. That‘s the overall goal, and to do so we need to be on the podium. I feel optimistic and excited about these upcoming three weeks.

"We know we can be strong here in San Marino and also in Catalunya, so we have to make sure we really make the most of these races. These next two GPs are kind of like home races for the team, so I want to get the best result possible."

Brembo said the main cause of Vinales' spectacular brake problems in Austria was a decision to continue with the 2019 spec front brakes, rather than joining the other Yamaha riders in moving to the 2020 spec, as advised.

But Brakes shouldn't be an issue at Misano, which is only labelled as 'medium' for braking effort by Brembo, compared with 'very hard' for Austria.