‘Frustrated’ Vinales: We prepare good then race changes so much

Maverick Vinales has reiterated his ongoing ‘frustration’ that he cannot find his way with the set-up on the 2019 Yamaha M1, saying he continuously feels prepared heading into the race only to be off the pace over a longer distance.

The Spaniard has endured a trying time with the factory Yamaha team stretching back beyond this season, but his complaints around this current generation M1 have been shared by both Valentino Rossi and the satellite Petronas SRT outfit.

Saying Mugello – where he finished sixth on largely dismal weekend for Yamaha as a whole – magnified this practice-to-race disparity, Vinales is nonetheless more confident it will be less pronounced on home soil in Catalunya this weekend.

“Completely the same [problems as before],” he said. “In practice we can show our speed and potential, like in Mugello, but sometimes we lose more than a second from the practice. It is really frustrating that we prepare the bike really good like this and then in the race time it changes so much.

“This weekend I think we have a bit more potential and I will give my best as always and cross my fingers to show our potential. If we achieve a goof result, it is a good obkective to improve from Mugello.