Vinales needs new rider coach

All the signs are that Maverick Vinales will need a new riding coach for the 2019 MotoGP season.

Wilco Zeelenberg - who has provided trackside advice and feedback for Jorge Lorenzo and, since 2017, Vinales - is set to become team manager for the new SIC Yamaha project, with official confirmation expected at Silverstone.

While the Dutchman would remain part of Yamaha and is said to be open to helping Vinales if he can, the new SIC role would mean it could only happen on an occasional basis.

"For sure," replied Vinales, when asked if he would seek another riding coach If Zeelenberg leaves. "Sometimes there are things that you cannot see on the bike and it is really important to have someone like Wilco.

"Especially to be calm, to know where you made a mistake. Because sometimes you are trying one corner a thousand times, but you are not on the correct line. A rider never does the whole track perfectly.

"So it's important to have someone that looks at the opponents and see also what our bike does and, for me, the most important is to compare what I say with what Wilco sees."

Vinales is also rumoured to have a new crew chief for 2019, with Bradley Smith's current KTM crew chief Esteban Garcia tipped to replace Ramon Forcada.

Forcada in turn looks set to join Zeelenberg at SIC, working with Franco Morbidelli, with rookie Fabio Quartararo getting the other M1.