MotoGP

Soft Tyre Call Pays Off for Vinales

1 Mins read
Maverick Vinales - Photo Credit: Craig McAllister

Maverick Vinales was pleased to see his brave decision to start on the softer rear tyre pay off with second place in today’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Movistar Yamaha rider was narrowly beaten to victory by Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso but the retirement of Marc Marquez to a mechanical failure has brought Vinales to within thirteen points of the overall lead.

Although his decision appeared rather bold to many, Vinales didn’t see the decision as a gamble and knew he had to stay patient early on before picking up the pace once Marquez dropped out.

“For me, it wasn’t a gamble because we worked really hard on the soft tyre all weekend to make the tyre life longer. Obviously, in the first laps it was very difficult with Dovi and Marc overtaking me but I knew my strongest point would be at the end in the last few laps so that’s why I tried to save the tyre and push in the last five laps.”

“I was very scared when Marc lost his engine because I didn’t know if there was oil or water so I lost a lot compared to Rossi and Dovizioso and they pulled away a little bit”, he explained. “But we were able to catch them and fight for the victory so I’m very happy.”

With six races to go, the championship remains wide open but Vinales has stressed that his Yamaha team need to keep improving if he is to have a say.

“We have work to do but we are moving forwards at every race and the team did a really good job this weekend. We improved in Misano especially in the electronics but we still need to improve, especially in the hot conditions.”

Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
MotoGPNASCAR Cup Series

Trackhouse Racing Team entering MotoGP in 2024

1 Mins read
NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing will become a MotoGP team in 2024 as they partner with Aprilia to field bikes for Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.
DakarMotoGP

Marc Marquez shoots down running Dakar Rally on bike

3 Mins read
As much as MotoGP great Marc Márquez likes the Dakar Rally, he has no interest in racing it on a bike. While it has its own challenges, he did not necessarily rule out a run on four wheels.
MotoGPSportscars

MotoGP star Rossi announced as BMW M Motorsports driver for 2023

2 Mins read
BMW M Motorsport has announced the MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi as a works driver for 2023