Maverick Viñales sees no reason why he can’t challenge for a podium at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.
Viñales found late race pace at Mugello to take sixth, after qualifying eighth. The result leaves him eighth in the standings, two points behind Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller.
The Monster Yamaha rider is yet to step on the podium at his home event in the premier class. However, he hopes that the Catalan fans can spur him on this weekend. He said:
“I can‘t wait to be at my home GP. Montmeló is a very special track for me, it‘s a circuit that I really like and enjoy. There I can feel all the support of my fans, it has an amazing atmosphere. I hope that I can respond with a good result, and why not with a podium? That‘s always our goal. Mugello was a very difficult race because it was very physically demanding.
“We have to keep working hard to be able to find the sweet spot of the bike, so we‘ll be able to continue fighting to be towards the top of the standings. So let’s keep focused, and we´ll show the best side of us for our fans.”
Despite never being on the podium in MotoGP, Viñales did finish on the podium in the 125cc, Moto3 and Moto2 events between 2011 and 2014.
The weekend’s action in Barcelona begins on Friday (14 June 2019) with Free Practice 1 at 08:55. This will be followed by Free Practice 2 at 13:10.
Saturday’s (15 June 2018) action begins at 08:55 with Free Practice 3, with Free Practice 4 at 12:30. This is immediately followed by Qualifying 1 at 13:10 and Qualifying 2 at 13:35.
Sunday’s warm-up (16 June 2019) will begin at 08:40. The race begins at 13:00.
