Maverick Viñales finished the Mugello GP in 8th place overall. The Spanish rider was never able to keep up with the pace of the front runners and thus lost more points to the top 5 in the overall standings.
In statements to the press, the Aprilia Racing rider spoke about his race and the sensations he had throughout it.
– Bad choice for my bike, by far. So, we were confident with the medium tire and, in fact, it worked well. I think with the soft ones it was very difficult for us. We put a lot of temperature in the rear tire and the bike was moving. I think and I am sure we made the right choice. In the middle of the race, I had a very good potential, but when I got stuck behind Morbidelli, they were too fast on the straight, so I didn’t have any chance to overtake. Because the pace has been spectacular. I think we improved by about 35 seconds. I improved 35 seconds compared to last year and I’m in P8, so imagine how frustrating it is. We tried our best. Obviously, we have some limitations in the last corner in terms of engine performance. We have to be optimistic about the future. We have to keep working, keep a positive mindset. My bike was very strong, especially in the second section. So, we have to move forward, move forward. This is the main mentality.
He also added what he will work on during the test day for the upcoming races: “I would like to work with the soft rear tire, because I see especially Ducati and KTM, it seems they can do all the races. For us, that is impossible at the moment. So, I would like to work with the soft tires for a race distance. This is my plan, this is what I would like. I will strive for it, because it is obvious that the medium tires are fantastic, but we have a bit of a disadvantage in the first 10 laps. So, we have to work with the soft tires to make the bike a bit more stable. For a fast lap it’s fine, it’s stable. But as soon as I lose a bit of grip, the bike starts moving too much. So, yes, we will race with all the tires to try to understand, put the bike in the worst conditions and try to take a step forward. I learned that our bike is very good in cornering speed. We will definitely use it on other tracks. But our opponents have improved. Last year, I think we had a bit more advantage over them. But now everyone is getting closer and closer to our cornering speed. In section two, where I feel we have to flow, not use the brakes or the power of the bike, we were very strong. So, yes, I am optimistic for the next race, for sure. I pushed every lap. I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m just a little surprised, because I did 46, almost the whole race and still finished 11 seconds behind, so I was quite surprised, to be honest. I thought I could catch the front group in the middle of the race, but they never, it seems they didn’t have any wear on the rear tires, so it was quite impressive, to be honest. It was a big loss for us on the soft tires, for the other riders, for Aprilia, and also a bit on the mediums, but it’s surprising that they didn’t lose.
