I beat Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, I have to remind myself...

Maverick Vinales has admitted that he has to ‘remind himself’ that he once beat the likes of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa amid his current struggles to establish himself as a regular frontrunner in MotoGP.

Touted as a future world champion early in his MotoGP career, Vinales made an instant impact when he joined Yamaha in 2017, winning the opening two races in Qatar and Argentina.

During his four full seasons as Rossi’s teammate at the Iwata marque, Vinales outscored the seven-time premier class champion three times, as the Italian neared the end of his career.

He also finished a career-best third in the championship in both 2017 and 2019, with only Honda’s Marc Marquez and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso ahead of him in the standings in those years.

However, before he could convert his early promise into a world title, Vinales’ stint at Yamaha ended abruptly in the middle of the 2021 season after he was accused of deliberately trying to damage his engine during the Styrian Grand Prix.

A switch to Aprilia soon after allowed him to rebuild his reputation, but it wasn’t until the beginning of last season that he returned to winning ways after a three-year winning drought.

Vinales has shown a quick adaptation to the RC16 at Tech3 KTM, but admits he often reflects on his past achievements to stay motivated in the midfield.

“Sometimes I have to remind myself that I beat Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa,” the 30-year-old told GPOne.

“‘Maverick, you’ve fought with some really big sharks, now it’s your moment!’

“I wasn’t referring to difficult moments. It’s clear that every period in a career has its positives and its negatives.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to fight at the top consistently but, in the past, I was able to do that. There are many reasons behind this. From the package, to the competitiveness of others.

“So that’s why I want to remind myself of who I’ve been fighting with, to motivate myself and to keep believing in what I’m doing.”