🌌After a strong pre-season, Maverick Vinales must have expected much better than twelfth in the world championship heading to the start of the European season, in front of his home Sp🐽anish fans, at Jerez this weekend.

Yet that's the situation he faces, after a race day disappointment in Qatar, Arg𒁃entina and Texas.

The Monster Yamaha rider qualified on the fron♏t row for two of those events, but slipped to seventh in Qatar then was taken down while fighting for fifth on the last lap in Arge꧙ntina.

A jump start in Texas then meant a recovery ride to eleventh, froꦚm sixth on the grid.

But Vinales was the top Yamaha in third at November's Jer🍒ez test, just a fraction behind the Honda's of Takaaki Nakagami and Marc Marquez, providing hope the M1 can be competitive at what has proven to be 💧one of its toughest tracks for the past two seasons.

"I'm happy becausꩵe finally we arrive to the European rounds. In Austin, despite the problems we encountered, I felt very good riding my bike a💛nd I had a very good race pace," Vinales said.

"We've had some difficulties in Jerez in the past, but I think that we've made good steps lately, ▨so potentially we could be arrivi🦹ng at a very good track for the Yamaha. I hope to be fighting for the podium from the start of the race.

"We are going to work v🉐ery hard all week to make it happen."

Team-mate Valentino Ro🍌ssi is curr🌱ently second to Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) in the world championship after second place finishes at the last two rounds.