Maverick Vinales says he has “a good feeling” about his relationship with KTM following his first MotoGP test outing for the Tech3 team.
Vinales announced he would be moving to the Tech3 KTM squad from Aprilia earlier in the season and was delighted by his testing debut.
The Spaniard admitted KTM didn’t make too many changes to the bike as he wanted to test the set-up previously used by Pedro Acosta.
“I started the day with no expectations, trying to be very open-minded,” Vinales said via Crash.net.
“Straight away, even on the out lap, the feeling was positive. Everything comes very naturally.
“Obviously, there are still many things I need to understand and integrate in my riding style, but the feeling was good.
“We didn’t test too much, I just asked to have Pedro’s set up and try to ride and understand the bike.
“I don’t see any problems for the moment, but for sure I didn’t arrive at the limit of the bike.
“So I prefer to stay quiet for now and try to first of all arrive at the limit and then start to really understand what is missing.
“But I didn’t see any ‘wall’. Every time I went out, I went faster and faster.”
Vinales: KTM MotoGP bike ‘fantastic for my riding style’
Vinales explained that the KTM bike also seems to suit his natural riding style based on how he exits corners.
“What I like about the bike, and this is something very positive for my riding style, is the way you exit the corner,” Vinales explained.
“So let’s say that the earlier you pick up, the earlier you go.
“This is fantastic for my riding style because I pick up the bike very early and you always have power pushing you out of the corner.
“Brakes, still I need to understand the bike a little bit more, but it seems quite stable.
“But when I try to force the slide, I still need to understand how much front brake I can use in different phases.
“The only thing I was concerned about was the fast corners, because I’ve been fast with all the other bikes, but on paper, all those bikes were good for the fast corners.
“But this one I like a lot for the fast corners, like Turns 13, 14 become very natural and with a lot of corner speed.
“It’s fast. It’s the first thing I felt!”
‘A good feeling’ around Tech3 KTM – Vinales
Vinales is a rider notorious for having difficult launches off the line, as he often struggles at the start of races despite having solid pace.
However, the Spanish rider joked that he understands why he “lost so many positions” at the start of races after trying KTM’s start device.
“Now I understand why I lost so many positions,” he said.
“The rear device, it’s really good. The way it goes down is very nice and smooth, so it didn’t make the tyre spin, so that’s fantastic.”
Vinales also explained that the family feeling of Tech3 KTM is something he needs in his adaptation period with the team.
“There’s a good feeling, good atmosphere and I believe we can create a really strong group.
“This is a family. It’s what I feel with the mechanics between them and probably it’s the feeling I need.
“We didn’t touch the bike too much, but I really wanted to take Pedro’s bike and ride it until I go fast.
“I also worked a little bit with Dani [Pedrosa] and Pol [Espargaro] trying to understand where I need to push the bike, where I need to be more gentle.
“It was a nice experience to work with them.”
