Maverick Vinales topped the Catalan MotoGP test timesheets yesterday and spent time re-examining Yamaha’s carbon swingarm.

The Spaniard, who also had more time to work with veteran crew chief Silvano Galbusera, completed a total of 85 laps, looking for improvements and testing various solutions.

He ended the day by dropping a 1’39.400s on lap 78, which earned him first place with a 0.137s advantage overvteammate and championship leader Fabio Quartararo in second.

“We were working on the feeling with the bike and riding with general settings of the bike. We also worked on setting a fast lap, because we missed out by quite a lot at the Catalan GP, and in the end, it cost me the opportunity to be on the podium,” said Vinales.

“So, we were working quite a lot, also on the front, and the weight balance of the bike. Little by little, with the help of Silvano Galbusera, we are starting to understand a bit more what I like on the bike, and how I should ride it. This is the most important. We still need to improve, but this was only our first race and first test with Silvano as our Crew Chief.

“We tried many things, because the objective for us was to collect a lot of information, so we can prepare a competitive bike for the Sachsenring. On a good lap, we were able to be fast. To improve our rhythm we tried to work a lot between 2 and 3 o’clock in the afternoon, which is when the track is the most slippery. We improved a little bit, especially the last six laps of the tyre life.”