Monster Energy Factory Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales said that he is feeling confident after topping the time sheets on the opening day of free practice at the French MotoGP in Le Mans.

The Spaniard was on the pace early and continued to improve his lap time through the day, with a fastest lap time of a 1:32.203 coming late in FP2, which was enough to put him nearly two tenths ahead of Marc Marquez.

Vinales attributed his fast start down to being able to find a set up quickly and working from there.

“It's been a very positive start to the weekend for me,” said the 23-year-old.

“I think we found our set-up very fast, so I was able to make many laps and I felt quite good with the bike. I have good feeling, also with the tyres, but anyway we need to keep working.

"There are still some places where I need to improve, also concerning my riding style, so tomorrow I have a lot of work to do.”

Rain is forecast overnight and despite finding seemingly the perfect set up already, all the grip being washed away or a wet qualifying session could change all. Vinales is perfectly aware of this and ready to work should he face wet conditions tomorrow.

“Let's see what the weather will be like, because it seems to be uncertain,” he said.

“We will have to pay close attention in qualifying, because it will play an important role in being able to be in front during the race. For sure, we will have to make quick decisions.

“I haven't ridden the bike in full wet yet, but in Austin I felt great on the wet tyres. So, I think tomorrow it will be important to understand in which direction to work and how to improve.”