Maverick Vinales says he is “happy” to finish second after “losing the front two or three times” over the course of the MotoGP Spanish grand prix at Jerez.
Vinales made a strong to start to his 2020 premier class campaign as he made a lightning start to blast past pole-man Fabio Quartararo to take an early lead, although this was to be short-lived as Marc Marquez quickly hunted down the Spaniard.
He regained the initiative as Marquez soon dropped back after making a mistake at Turn 4 just after taking the lead, though Vinales would once again lose the top spot to a charging Quartararo on his way to a maiden MotoGP success just a few tours later.
Despite struggling to keep his soft front tyre alive across the race distance, Vinales held on to finish second, albeit 4.6 seconds in-arrears of the Frenchman on his satellite M1 Yamaha.
Vinales was satisfied with his runners-up position after the race though, stating he was “pleased” with such a strong position on a circuit he doesn’t normally enjoy.
“For sure I’m really happy, Jerez is usually not a good track for me but every year we are improving,” said Vinales.
“I’m really happy because I lost the front two or three times, I was feeling myself on the ground so I tried to control the situation and save the tyre until the end so that I could fight against Miller and then somehow I found some grip and a good rhythm and was able to catch up.
Vinales-along with Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi- were the only two riders in the 20-strong field to opt for the soft front Michelin tyre in the race, a decision that Vinales would begin to regret barely a quarter of the way into the 25 lap contest.
“We chose the soft front because my thinking was that I could push in the beginning to open a gap, but then on lap 6 or 7 I lost the front and dropped about a second and a half so I could not finish the way I wanted.
“I’m happy anyway as second is a solid position, so I’m very pleased about this race.”
