Vinales, Forcada can 'keep working, pushing'

Maverick Vinales insists he and crew chief Ramon Forcada can continue to work effectively together until the end of the 2018 MotoGP season.

At Brno, it was confirmed that Vinales will split from the experienced Forcada at the end of the season and begin a new partnership with Esteban Garcia, currently Bradley Smith's crew chief at KTM.

Vinales, Forcada can 'keep working, pushing'

Maverick Vinales insists he and crew chief Ramon Forcada can continue to work effectively together until the end of the 2018 MotoGP season.

At Brno, it was confirmed that Vinales will split from the experienced Forcada at the end of the season and begin a new partnership with Esteban Garcia, currently Bradley Smith's crew chief at KTM.

Forcada, who won three world titles with Jorge Lorenzo before Vinales took over the factory Yamaha seat vacated by the #99, made his feelings about the split clear last weekend at Brno, resulting in Yamaha shutting down questions about the doomed partnership.

"For sure," Vinales insisted at the Red Bull Ring on Friday evening, when asked if he was confident of being able to work with Forcada in the remaining rounds.

"I think we both have the objective to make the Yamaha number one, we have to keep working, we have to keep pushing.

"I think it's done. I think last weekend was more noise than what it needs to be," he added, also suggesting it was a team decision to split from Forcada, who is now tipped to work with Franco Morbidelli at the new SIC satellite Yamaha team.

"Finally, I don't know, it's the decision not only from me, from all the team, and I think it's really important now to focus on the job," Vinales said.

"Still there are many races to go, and we need to be there in the championship. So we need to keep pushing, keep focus, and for sure I'm really excited for this weekend."

Vinales is returning to action after being taken out on lap one of the Brno race and missing the following official test in order to rest and check his shoulder.

"I wanted to do the test, because after the crash, you always want to be on the bike the next day. But for me, I was feeling really bad with my shoulder, so it was impossible to go on the bike.

"I decided to go back to Barcelona, check what I hurt in my shoulder, finally, luckily it was nothing, just a little bit of pain. But I think I will be at the maximum on Sunday."

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