Vinales pushed just a little too hard

Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales enjoyed sunny conditions at the Phillip Island circuit today during the first free practice sessions of this weekend's Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, working diligently on his bike's settings and secured fifth place at the end of the day.

Fully committed to his goal to decrease the 30-point gap to the rider in second place in the championship standings, Viñales hit the ground running in the morning session. Despite a stiff breeze, he was soon on the pace and climbed up to second place before shifting his attention to his bike‘s set-up. The Spaniard ended the FP1 session in fifth place, with a 1'29.781s fastest lap and a 0.179s margin to first.

He continued his form in the dry afternoon session and it only took him a few laps to shoot up to second again in the provisional rankings. He planned on spending what was left of the 45-minute session testing various setting options, but had to slightly amend this strategy after a crash in turn 8, with 20 minutes to go.

He was quickly up on his feet again and hurried to the box to rejoin the fray before the times started to drop in the final 15 minutes of the session. Back on the bike, Viñales put his head down, but was unable to improve on his time.

His best result, a 1'29.423s on lap 7, kept him in fifth place in the FP2 and combined free practice timesheets, 0.198s from the front.

“The day overall has been really good, honestly. Before the crash I was already coming up with red-helmet times in many sectors, but I was trying so hard I pushed the bike over the limit. We still have to improve, but the crash was, for sure, my mistake,” he said. “I pushed in the outlap when the tyres were cold. I tried to do my best.”

“Anyway, after the crash, I didn‘t feel as good as before, but I was booking many 1‘29s and was on the pace so that means we have a good base set-up and now we have to improve, especially in sector 4.”

“The track is different from what it was like during the pre-season test, but it‘s not bad. It‘s cooler, but the track still provides good grip so that‘s good for us. Tomorrow we‘re going to try to improve even more, but I‘m quite happy how the bike was working here today.”