Qatar MotoGP GP – Viñales: "I couldn’t have hoped for better"

Maverick Viñales brilliantly meets the expectations placed on him with his victory in Qatar in his first race on the official Yamaha. The Spanish did not have the easy part during this Qatari weekend disrupted by the rains. MNC Statements and Analysis.

Maverick Viñales, Yamaha-Movistar (1st in qualifying and 1st in race) : "I’m really satisfied, the team did a great job giving me a bike that’s always perfectly tuned. Honestly, I got off to a good start to get to second in the first corner, but I had to straighten the bike to avoid colliding with Zarco: Marquez and Dovizioso took the opportunity to overtake me. The track was slippery, I could never maintain my speed in the corners, so it was difficult to turn the bike and I even had to widen in a fast curve. It was difficult on the first few laps, but I knew I had a good pace and I had to stay focused. ".

“Little by little I regained my confidence, until I got back into the wheel of Marquez. I then tried to get back to Dovizioso, but I did not know how to pass it. At the end of a good battle, I managed to impose myself while remaining calm. I am really delighted and I want to thank the team who did a good job. It’s like living a dream: my first race under the Yamaha colors with a pole position and a victory, I could not hope for better! As for the tires, the Michelin worked very well all weekend and I had chosen the right compounds for the race (medium front and rear, editor’s note). The tires have changed a lot compared to last year and I feel confident with them ".

• MNC Live : The race delayed because of the rain !
• MNC Live :
• MNC Live :
• MNC Live : Zarco out, Viñales to victory
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• Report and rankings :
• MNC analyzes :

Site analysis : Maverick Viñales has certainly dominated all of them and his superiority against the clock on the official Yamaha was admitted by all for this kick-off of the season in Qatar. But doubts still remained over the 22-year-old’s ability to cope with his favorite status, turning his astounding velocity into victory. In the race, under the pressure of his rivals, would "Mack" manage to print his rhythm? ?

The n ° 25 responded with style to all these questions, demonstrating determination and unwavering concentration despite particularly trying conditions for the nerves! Qualifications canceled due to rain, downpour just before the start of MotoGP (then just after the finish), start procedure delayed by 45 minutes, race reduced to 20 laps: the stress on the starting grid was at its maximum this Sunday evening !

If all these reversals have highlighted the urgent need for a new organization of the Qatar GP (at least drainage works so that the track is passable in the rain), they did not deviate Vinales from its objective: clinch victory in his first race in the Yamaha colors, as did his illustrious teammate Valentino Rossi before him after his switch from Honda to Yamaha in 2004. 

The road to success was not, however, easy for Vinales, who first had to deal with an eventful start and then regain confidence halfway through the race. Then, Lorenzo’s replacement had to fight a tough battle with a very fit Andrea Dovizioso on the powerful Ducati, and also among the few to have opted for a soft rear tire. In the pit straight, the official M1 thus returned more than 6 km / h to the factory Ducati: 342.9 km / h against 336.7 km / h .

The "Top Speed" of the race goes to the new recruit of the Reds, Jorge Lorenzo, timed at a breathtaking 347.2 km / h! Note that Ducati places five of its motorcycles at the top of the V-max ranking: their first competitor, Honda, only appears in sixth place with Jack Miller at 339.9 km / h. That is 7.3 km / h between the first Ducati and the first Honda. The gap is even higher with the official RCVs since Marc Marquez has never reached 337 km / h (336.9 km / h), while Dani Pedrosa peaked at 335.5 km / h.

Finally, the first Yamaha is only in 9th place with 338.3 km / h recorded for Valentino Rossi, third in Qatar despite his small mechanical advantage over his teammate winner. The Doctor therefore returned almost 10 km / h to the red rocket of his former box neighbor, Jorge Lorenzo !

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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