Comments from the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders after FP3 at the San Marino GP

2020-09-14 07:35
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales have secured a places in Q2 to be held later today at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, scoring a 1-2 result in this morning's FP3.



This morning, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales earned themselves places for this afternoon‘s Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Q2 session. The team-mates left it late to put in their hot laps during the 45-minute session, but they made it count when it mattered most, scoring a Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1-2.

Rossi brought a smile to the faces of his fans this morning even before FP3 started, when he revealed his new helmet design for the Misano races: a cheeky doctor‘s prescription of two races in Misano + 46 grams of Valentino Rossi ought to bring excitement to his fans. The local hero continued the good vibes during the session. He left it until three minutes before the end, making a quick pit stop before a last effort. The Italian had dropped to P15 in the rankings at the time but pushed hard and got the job done. He posted a 1’31.861s on lap 21/21, when the chequered flag had already come out, to take over the top spot in the FP3 and combined free practice classifications from his team-mate with a 0.075s advantage.

Viñales followed up a strong Friday start with another display of competitive pace in this morning‘s session, trying different tyre options before turning his attention to the defence of his top 10 placement in the combined FP rankings. Despite various yellow flags in the latter stages of FP3 due to crashes by other riders, Top Gun maneuvered his way around the track without any problems. His 1‘31.936s, set on lap 19/20, put him in provisional first place. The only other rider quicker than him was his team-mate, by only 0.075s. Viñales and Rossi will be back on track from 13:30 - 14:00 local track time (GMT+2) for FP4, followed by Q2 from 14:35 - 14:50.



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VALENTINO ROSSI
VALENTINO ROSSI


Position: 1st | Best lap time: 1'31.861 | Laps: 21

It was a good practice, because from the beginning I felt good with the bike and I had a good pace. At the end I had a small problem and I also took a yellow flag on my fast lap, so after a quick stop I only had one last lap left to get into Q2, but I was able to push and ride well. We are very happy about this first position.





MAVERICK VIÑALES
MAVERICK VIÑALES


Position: 2nd | Best lap time: 1'31.926 (+0.075) | Laps: 20

I think FP3 was really good. I was trying the three tyre options, so now I understand what I need for the race, which is the most important. The team is working really well. We are trying to enjoy the bike and the time out on track. In the qualifying session we want to concentrate on being on the front row, that's our goal, but this afternoon we will also be concentrating on rhythm and trying some different tyres to see what we can choose for the race. But anyway the feeling is great, and the team is working fantastic.

Source: Yamaha Motor Racing

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