Third row start for Maverick Viñales in Mugello

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales put up a fight in a hot Q2 and secured 7th place on the grid for tomorrow‘s Gran Premio d‘Italia Oakley.

Viñales showed he had a strong pace, especially in sectors 1-3. He was keen on putting his agility to good use in the Q2 session and immediately positioned his YZR-M1 in fourth place on his first flying lap. He was pushed down a couple of positions soon after, but only briefly, as he responded by clocking a 1‘46.181s to take second place.

With more than six minutes remaining he was back in the pit box for a fresh set of tyres. There was a 0.336s-gap to bridge to snatch pole, so the Spaniard set out to give it another go. When he didn‘t improve on his next try, he was lying in fifth place. He gritted his teeth and set three personal best sectors but again couldn‘t better his time, taking seventh on the grid for tomorrow’s race, 0.662s from first.

Maverick Viñales:

“My pace is really good, but starting from seventh is always very difficult, very tough. We’re going to try to make a good start and ride some good first laps, which we have been working really hard on this weekend. Anyway, the race is always different, so then we will see where we are. The bike is moving a lot, I’m fighting it every lap. But anyway, luckily I’m physically really fit. I think I can arrive at the end of the race in a good condition. It’s going to be a tough and long race, with many bikes and overtakes, so we have to be smart and also manage the tyres.”