Viñales gets back on track
Yamaha woes not over yet
Maverick Viñales has admitted that he found it hard to find his place in the Yamaha set-up at the start of this season, confessing that at times he’s felt unsupported by the factory and his team.
Publically struggling with crew chief Ramon Forcada all season, he told Sky Italy that at times this year he’s felt like he just needed a hug from the team, but has been left to his own devices as the split with the Spaniard has deepened.
But now that he’s finally addressed the elephant in the room with the team, Viñales was upbeat and adamant they’re making progress both on and off the bike. “We’ve spoken in the past and it’s done now, because we all want to be competitive and we all want to improve. This year should help us, because if we can understand all of this we can use it to improve. I like the atmosphere and I’m able to be closer to the team on the flyaways, and that’s making me calmer.
“I need to try and recover the
‘Viñales told Sky Italy that at times he felt like he needed a team hug’
feelings now, because with more confidence I could be fighting at the front more regularly. So, let’s see if the good result at the weekend can bring more self-confidence for me.” Forcada will leave the Viñales camp at the end of the season and make the jump over to the new Petronas Yamaha team, headhunted away by Valentino Rossi to work with his protégé Franco Morbidelli at the new squad.