MotoGP Mandalika: ‘Mental health is fantastic, pressure is good’ - Vinales

Maverick Viñales endured a more difficult than expected Qatar GP, with the Aprilia rider finishing 12th and over 20 seconds off his teammate.

As Indonesia’s return to Grand Prix racing at the Mandalika International Street Circuit approaches, the Spaniard is confident he is on the right path with the RS-GP and buoyed by Aleix Espargaro’s podium-chasing performance last time out. Although still cautious to attach a particular goal to the upcoming weekend as he continues to gel with the Noale machine, Viñales was firmly inside the top ten during winter testing five weeks ago.

“I think is important right now that we don’t put to us any objective, especially looking at the position,” Vinales explained from Lombok Island, “because it’s a matter of adaptation of the bike, still is a little bit complicated. Especially when I go to a track that I never ride with the Aprilia, is difficult to understand,” he continued, referencing Qatar’s season-opener.

“Is difficult to push on the correct way, however, we are working very hard, especially in this adaptation, because the bike is working quite well. We can see that for me at this point is a little bit more difficult, but Aleix is working the bike well and he is a good point of reference. ‘Okay, I need to brake on that way, I need to open in that way’, so still I need time. I think in Qatar was difficult because we arrived from a very high expectation, but here can be good. So we start especially on this type of working, especially on the adaptation and then we will see.”

With a partly new track surface following rider complaints after February’s visit, a new Michelin tyre - combining compounds on offer at the test with ‘special casing’ to increase durability in the tropical