Vinales at “full strength”, changing small things for podium
Maverick Vinales confirms he is fully fit following his heavy off after being taken out by Franco Morbidelli in Argentina but accepts he must give his all to recover lost ground
Maverick Vinales has confirmed he is fully fit following his heavy off after being taken out by Franco Morbidelli on the final lap of the Argentina MotoGP last time out but accepts he must give his all to recover lost ground in the championship.
After an underwhelming 2019 opener with seventh place, having stormed to pole position in Qatar, the Spanish rider was denied a points finish in Argentina when he was hit by Morbidelli on the last lap which saw the pair tumble out.
Vinales says he is not feeling any lasting effects of his Argentina off and is hopeful of kick-starting his season at the Circuit of the Americas which holds happy memories for him.
12 months ago Vinales grabbed second place for the factory Yamaha squad at the United States MotoGP round, while he won the 2014 Moto2 race and finished on the podium in the 2013 Moto3 race at the Texan track.
“The first thing I want to say is that I arrive in Austin in a good physical condition after the crash in Argentina, and that is the most important thing,” Vinales confirmed. “Luckily, I didn‘t hurt myself and I can say that I‘ll start the third round of the calendar with full strength.
“Austin is a track that I really like and where I‘ve always felt very good on the bike. I have very good memories of the Circuit of the Americas, so I‘m going to try to enjoy the Grand Prix as much as I can.”
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Vinales also saw his Argentina charge restrained by an all-too-familiar grip-loss problem, which he feels he’s suffered with for two-and-a-half years on the Yamaha, but remains optimistic tweaking “the small things” with his YZR-M1 will find a cure to the ongoing issue.
“We will try to change the small things we’ve found at the last round in order to be able reach the podium, that is our main goal. We have to give our 100% to lose no more points and move upwards in the classification.”
Following his tough start to 2019, Vinales is 11th in the early MotoGP riders’ standings with Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi in third place having broken his rostrum-less run in Argentina.
