Maverick Viñales still has some rough edges to smooth out after the MotoGP preseason. The Aprilia rider finished sixth in the Qatar tests, 0.435s behind the fastest rider, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
The Spanish rider told the press that he improved in the fast corners and is satisfied with his performance in those moments, but admitted that he still has difficulties with the engine brake:
– I needed at least one more day – or two. I still don’t feel perfectly. One good thing is that in the fast corners I feel really on point, so I can attack a lot. And that’s something very positive, because last year I had some difficulties in the third sector and now I recovered what I can do in the fast corners and this is fantastic. Normally I was fast in the fast corners, although I’ve never been fast with this bike. So I’m really happy about that. Then, of course, I still have a lot of difficulties with the engine brake. It’s not constant and when you do the long race you see a lot of problems. So I did 18 laps to understand very well what I need. The bike and the tire behavior change a lot, so I think it was great to do it.
As for the possible resolution of the difficulties, Viñales explained: ‘Just fine-tuning. We need to fine-tune the engine brake well. I won’t call them problems, it’s something to solve. But I think it’s easier to solve than other things. There’s still a lot of work to do during the competition weekend‘.
