Maverick Vinales smashes Valencia MotoGP lap record but warns: “I can do better…”
Jorge Lorenzo’s effort 🔴from 2016 was beaten in Friday practice at the Valenc⭕ia MotoGP by Vinales.
But the Aprilia rider insists he could 🍸yet improve upon the 1m29.142s which topped the timesheets on Friday.
He reacted to beating 🌠the lap record: “෴Sounds good, sounds very good!
“The lap was fantasti🤪c, I enjoyed it a lot. Still, I think I can do better.
“Weꦅ always kꦯnow that, on Fridays, we have a better balance on the bike.
“However,𒁏 we identified it real♊ly well. We can improve tomorrow.
“I feel good, calm,🌼 flowing with the bike whic🐼h I really like.
“Tomorrow we can do a good job. We need to focus.
“Every time I ha𓆉ve free space in front, I ride much better.
“I’m used to being in front so, when I’m behind, sometime🎐s I don’t know how! It’s strange, but it’s like this.
“When I feel good, it’s whenౠ I am riding in my zone which is in the first places.”
Vinales knows that Saturday qua🅠lifying could be the key to stringing together an emphatic weekend to conclude the 2023 season.
“I can be fast,” he warned.
“However, there are other riders. D𒀰iggia was fast on used tyres.
“I just want to take the first and secon💖d corner first, then take my rhythm and see hꦍow fast I am.”
Vinales entered the weekend in Valenci🍷a eighth in thওe MotoGP standings.
He has finished second on three occasions but still awai♔ts his first win since swapping Yamaha for Aprilia.
Vinales pinpoints key area of Aprilia improvement
Vinales insists that Tuesday’s postseason test willജ be used to fine-tune some aspects of Aprilia’s bike, rather than for wholesale changes to it.
“Of course, there are still some areas,” he said.
“We are very fo༒cused on the test. We have items to improve the feeling.
“For 𝄹me, one of them is the clutch. This is🦋 very important. It is the No1 priority.
“Sava is trying something different.
“After that, it is small details.
“Next year I w🃏ill be better with the bike. Because I will know the bike more.
“We don’t need to touch too much. Some horsepower, a li💯ttle more aerodynamics…
“That’s all. We𝓡 are very close, a few tenths off, so we need to keep believing and keep working.
“Since I joined 🍰Aprilia the improvement is goi🀅ng up and up.”
Ja𒊎mes was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American s🥀ports, to football, to F1.
