Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was quickest on Day 2 at Sepang, setting his quickest lap near the end of action and seemingly doing so on a new aero package tried out by both Movistar Yamaha riders on Monday. The rider from Roses is positive after a good day on track and made the most of the hottest part of the day to investigate the M1 in conditions with lower grip – something that was a big challenge last season.
“We’ve been working when the temperature was hotter, so we’ve been riding then because it’s more similar to a race situation,” explains Viñales. “Today the track was more slippery so we could make some more steps in the areas we wanted. I’m really positive that we could keep a consistent lap time and complete a race distance, and I think we have to continue like this because we are in a good way. We have to try to forget one lap and try to make 20 laps, which is what we are trying to do.”
Forgetting one lap pace was far from necessary, however, as Viñales just pipped teammate Valentino Rossi to the top and set the quickest lap of the test overall. Both men also tried the new aero package brought by Yamaha – and had some good things to say.
“I think we’re going to use it on some tracks because it’s very positive,” he affirms. “Tracks like Le Mans and these kind of tracks where you have a lot of wheelies, it can be very positive for sure.”
So after a solid Monday at Sepang, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?
“I will try to do a race simulation with two specific types of tyres to see if it works,” he says. “I am quite happy and from the first lap to the sixteenth or eighteenth, the time didn’t drop. It’s constant and very positive.”
Action resumes at 10:00 (GMT +8).