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Taming the Yamaha MotoGP bike’s “brutal” power delivery will be key to returning it to the front, according to Maverick Vinales.
Yamaha’s works riders Valentino Rossi and Vinales finished second and third behind Marc Marquez in Sunday’s German Grand Prix but neither was able to threaten their Honda rival for victory.
Vinales once again struggled for pace on new tyres in the early stages of the Sachsenring race before making a late charge, finally beating the Pramac Ducati of Danilo Petrucci to the final step of the podium.
“The real problem is that in the first laps we have a major lack of grip,” said Vinales.
“At the start of the race it was like using used tyres, the bike slid a lot.
“It seems I had more grip on the 16th lap than on the first lap with the new tyre. It’s always been like this, except for the races I won last year. Maybe I need to weigh a few kilos more!
“In the end, we have nothing that could make the bike sweeter. We have so much power but it’s delivered in a brutal way. The rear tyre slides a lot.
“I’m trying to improve my riding style because if the improvements in electronics does not come, I’ll have to make the difference [myself], so I’m very focused on that.”
Though Yamaha beat the works Ducatis at the Sachsenring, Vinales felt that was an anomaly caused by it being a traditionally poor track for the Desmosedici.
Jorge Lorenzo led the early stages at the Sachsenring but slipped to sixth in the end as he struggled with rear tyre life, one place ahead of factory team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.
“We’re still far from Ducati, so I think it’s a question of the track,” Vinales said. “Exiting the last corner, we lost so much compared to the Ducatis.
“But we did a great job in the box all weekend to improve, even if we are still missing something.
“If we can improve the first 10 laps, we’ll be ready to fight with Marc.”