Vinales “still has small problems with electronics”

Maverick Vinales is targeting a “100%” set-up for the 2018 MotoGP world championship season opener in Qatar but concedes small concerns with the electronics package remain with his Movistar Yamaha.

12 months ago Vinales enjoyed a dream debut on his Movistar Yamaha with victory at the Losail International Circuit but his results with the team tailed out as the season progressed to finish third in the riders’ world championship.

After a tricky run during pre-season testing in Thailand and Qatar, Vinales concedes he’s not completely comfortable with his set-up on the YZR-M1 but has faith his factory Yamaha squad will be up to speed in time for the 2018 season opener.

“The pre-season has helped us to try many things and finally we found a good set-up,” Vinales said. “We still have some small problems with the electronics, but I think we will reach our 100% at the first GP.

“Qatar is a track that I really like, I won my first GP with Yamaha there, so I have very special memories and I will do my best to be on the podium again this week.”

Vinales is also eager to put the lessons from his debut Yamaha season into practice for 2018 and make the step up as a MotoGP title challenger this season.

“Last year was difficult for me with many ups and downs,” he said. “But above all I learned a lot during the season with my M1, and now I feel that we can do great things this year and that we can fight throughout the championship to win the title. I’m sure that we'll always be challenging at the top.”