Vinales to continue Yamaha update trials at Aragon

Maverick Vinales has confirmed he will try out Yamaha’s new parts during the Aragon MotoGP race weekend but has warned due to a delicate setup he will only race with them if he can find a clear advantage compared to his standard bike.

The Monster Yamaha rider tried out the team’s new carbon fibre swingarm, double exhaust and front wheel cover during the last round at Misano, having debuted the parts at last month’s test at the Rimini circuit, but opted not to race with the full range of new parts on his way to third place.

Vinales feels Yamaha needs further information at different circuits before he can be certain of gains from the range of upgrades while he also remains wary of the shift in setup it will force on his YZR-M1.

“I think we still have to get more data. I need to try the new parts again in FP1 and see how it is working as I did in Misano but at the moment I will continue using the new parts and try to understand which is the best for this track,” Vinales said.

“If we can use it at the maximum it will be an advantage compared to the standard bike that we have but it is very difficult to setup. Let’s say it is a bit more critical than the standard bike. It depends on the grip, it depends on how the weekend goes.

“If I enter FP1 already fast I can concentrate more work on the bike but if not I have to concentrate on suspension, riding style, so it is a little bit more complicated. Anyway, I will continue trying to see if we can gain a little bit more.”

While Yamaha remains tight-lipped on the exact gains in performance from the new parts, the new exhaust is thought to help with power delivery while the carbon fibre swingarm focuses on better grip and stability.

Valentino Rossi appeared to take to the new parts more than his factory Yamaha team-mate at Misano sticking with the Suzuki-style double exhaust, carbon fibre swingarm and front wheel cover for the majority of the race weekend.