Maverick Vinales: "I was just 0.1s per lap slower than Alex, it’s coming”

Maverick Vinales believes he and the Tech3 KTM team are tantalisingly close to regularly fighting for victory in MotoGP.

Amid a challenging start to KTM’s season, Vinales has emerged as the Austrian manufacturer's top rider.

The Spaniard dramatically led the Qatar Grand Prix before a tyre pressure infringement denied him second place, then bounced back with a close fourth at Jerez, KTM's best finish so far.

Now he arrives at Le Mans - a track where Vinales secured his first-ever Grand Prix win in Moto3 (2011), his first MotoGP podium with Suzuki (2016), and a MotoGP victory with Yamaha (2017). He also stood on the Sprint podium for Aprilia last season.

“I don't know if Le Mans will suit the KTM, but I will try to flow a lot with the bike and I will try to give the maximum,” Vinales said on Thursday.

“It's obviously a track where I used to be very fast. And probably this year I will be on the level, but we need to see how the bike works and how I can adapt to these new feelings.

“Every time I arrive at a new track, it's a new feeling and I need to adapt very quickly and give the maximum. But the Tech3 team, KTM and Red Bull are doing an amazing job.

“I think we are growing up really quickly, now we need to take the correct steps because we are very close."

Reflecting on his near-podium performance at Jerez, Vinales highlighted how minimal the gaps have become.

“I think if we took out the first two laps where I fought a lot with Diggia, I was just 0.1 per lap slower than Alex, who was the winner. So this is just details. 

"We need to really find these details and keep working. It’s coming, but we need to be patient and work in a correct way.”

“One of the biggest differences I have from the beginning of the season is that now I just ride, I don't have to think too much like when I was adapting to the bike,” he added.

“Everything is becoming easier and actually I can go at the maximum of the bike in nearly every FP1. That makes it easier for us to do a good setting and prepare a good weekend, especially for a flying lap that is now very important.”

Le Mans, also the home race for Vinales' Tech3 squad, is renowned for its passionate atmosphere, something the Spaniard enjoys:

“The nicest thing is at 2am when the motorhome is moving from the party [music], the floor is shaking!” Vinales grinned.

“But no, it's always very cool, very special. You cannot see even one empty place on the track. And this we like a lot because we enjoy when all the fans are cheering and pushing us to do good races.”

Despite his recent heroics, Vinales starts this weekend only 15th in the world championship standings.

Pedro Acosta is the leading KTM in tenth, but only seven points clear of Vinales.

"What Maverick did in Qatar was amazing and also in Jerez, because we saw all his team-mates of the manufacturer struggling a lot," said title leader Alex Marquez.