After pinballing up and down the MotoGP results all year, Maverick Vinales is now in no doubt that "we made a mistake" when selecting the 2020 Factory-spec Yamaha: "Last year's bike was more competitive in all the tracks, not only a few."
Finishing 13th after a pitlane start at Valencia, combined with victory for Suzuki's Joan Mir, means the MotoGP title is now out of Maverick Vinales control.
Maverick Vinales may only be 19 points from the top of the MotoGP standings, but he fears the 2020 season will be another lost title opportunity, as a combination of setbacks take their toll on the factory Yamaha rider with three races to go.
When MotoGP champion Marc Marquez's title defence was ruined by a broken arm, the favourites to take over his crown on paper were Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Vinales. The pair have finished second and third in the standings to Marquez, respectively, for the past two seasons.
After a controversial end to Qualifying 1 a week earlier at Aragon, when Ducati's MotoGP title contender Andrea Dovizioso lost a place in Q2 after towing team-mate Danilo Petrucci to a faster time, it was Dovizioso who benefitted from a tow in the same session this weekend.
Maverick Vinales did all he could to snatch a podium from new MotoGP title leader Joan Mir at the end of Sunday's Aragon Grand Prix. The Monster Yamaha rider led the opening seven laps of the race before being shuffled to fourth at mid-distance, as he began to struggle for rear grip.
Not for the first time this season, MotoGP title contenders Maverick Vinales and Joan Mir exchanged some hand signals after crossing paths on track during day one of the French Grand Prix.
The roller-coaster ride that is Maverick Vinales' 2020 MotoGP results took their latest dip in Catalunya, where the winner of the previous Misano race managed only ninth place. The Spaniard appears as bewildered as anyone else by the fluctuations, admitting after Sunday's race:
Having silenced his doubters with a first win of the season at Misano, Maverick Vinales heads for his home Catalunya MotoGP knowing that a repeat performance would hand him the world championship advantage.
Combined lap times from Tuesday's Official MotoGP Test, at Misano. Session 1 took place from 9:30-13:00, followed by a lunch break, with Session 2 from 14:00-18:00.
Just as he had predicted after a disappointing sixth place in Sunday's Misano MotoGP, Maverick Vinales was back on form in the high grip conditions at Tuesday's official test.
Vinales and Quartararo form a Yamaha one-two during opening Friday practice for the San Marino MotoGP at Misano. Aprilia riders Espargaro and Smith did their best laps behind Vinales and Mir respectively.
Misano is only rated 3 out of 5 for braking effort by Brembo, but after his spectacular accident in Austria Maverick Vinales has confirmed he will take Brembo's advice and try the 2020 front brake callipers again during this weekend's MotoGP.
A shocking brake failure last time in Austria means that Maverick Vinales, having taken a strong 40 points at the opening Jerez MotoGP rounds, has managed just eight points in the three races since.
Ever since MotoGP's TV graphics began broadcasting some live heart-rate data in 2019, Maverick Vinales has been significantly lower than the other riders.
With four different winners from the opening five races, and reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez ruled out of contention, the 2020 title race looks wide open.
MotoGP rookie Brad Binder said he 'cannot think of anything more scary as a rider' than the kind of high-speed brake failure experienced by Maverick Vinales in Sunday's Styrian Grand Prix,
Valentino Rossi, Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli switched over to an evolution Brembo front braking system, after overheating problems at the opening Red Bull Ring MotoGP round.
Almost wiped out by the fallen bikes of Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco last Sunday, Maverick Vinales' traumatic Austrian adventure continued when he had to leap from his own machine at 230km/h as the brakes "exploded" in Sunday's Styrian MotoGP.