Vinales promises to push at ‘maximum’ from lap one after Friday boost

Maverick Vinales promises to ‘ride the race at the maximum at every corner on every lap’ ahead of the San Marino MotoGP after rediscovering his’ rhythm’ on the Yamaha M1 during Friday free practice at Misano.

With nine races in 11 races upcoming to decide the outcome of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, the Spaniard remains on the cusp of the title fight despite two torrid races in Austria, which included a spectacular brake failure that forced him to bail off the Yamaha at more than 200km/h.

Nonetheless, Vinales was looking back to his best around Misano as he put more than half a second between himself and the competition in FP1 before holding back en route to fifth best in FP2 as he worked on set-up and tyre life.

“The feelings were fantastic,” Vinales, who started the 2019 San Marino MotoGP from pole position, mused after FP2. “In FP1 I did an amazing lap, and in FP2 I was focusing on the race rhythm. My rhythm is really good. I was able to set a very fast lap time at the end of the long run. 

“For the time attack I rode with a used front tyre. I just tried a fresh soft rear tyre to see what the feeling is like, because tomorrow we’re going to push. 

Often criticised for his approach in races that sees him start slow before making up ground in the latter stages when the tyres begin to go off, Vinales has vowed to change this in Misano.

“I’m quite happy, I think we can do a good job here in Misano. It’s important that we prepare well for the race, because it’s going to be hard with many riders going very fast. But today I felt really good on the bike and like I had something more to give. 

“We’re going to start the race pushing hard from the beginning, and then we’ll see. I will ride the race at the maximum at every corner on every lap.”