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Sixth in the Assen TT, Maverick Vinales did not hide his disappointment at the end of the race. Irrespective of the episode that cost him at least one position at the end, the Spaniard highlighted a certain deficit compared to the Borgo Panigale bikes. A performance handicap that is clearly affecting the course of the races.
"I got the maximum and even more out of the bike, but nevertheless so many finished ahead of us, so we have to keep working because the situation is complicated. In what is Ducati better? Difficult to make comparisons especially when the difference is so obvious. There are some areas where they are stronger, others we are. They definitely manage the tyres well at the beginning, so they arrive at the last few laps still in good condition," he analyzed. "In addition, they manage to close the direction changes a lot and pull the bike up right away. Today, for example, at turns 5,9 and 15 I was always losing them, while in the other sections of the track I defended myself well."
The 29-year-old seems to be very clear that something is wrong. "I'm happy, but not satisfied because I'm riding at a good level to win, but although we are faster than 2023 we are still missing something. That's why, as soon as we are on a friendly circuit we will have to take advantage of it. We will see how it will go in Germany. Overall, at Montmelo I had done a very good performance and finished eighth, here sixth. If I hadn't had the problem I would have finished fifth which wouldn't have changed much. I would have liked to have obtained more, but the bike was moving a lot and I couldn't corner. It's a shame since our bike is competitive."
The GP of the former Yamaha man was decided at Turn 15. "I felt a lot of shaking," he admitted, "I have to say, though, that I suffered from it the whole weekend, like a bit of all the other RS-GPs. Maybe it was because of the aerodynamics, certainly doing the corners turned out to be quite tricky."
Several riders were put under investigation. "From what I know it's because of a front tyre pressure issue. We'll see," he said.
Finally, making a comparison with the old RS-GP23 he revealed, "The weight balance has been changed. Last year it was more focused on the rear, with less load. If I make a comparison with Fernandez, however, I don't see points where his version can be better than my updated one. We have taken a step forward, and hopefully we can take another step forward in the summer, as I know I can fight at the front."
