Yamaha's Maverick Vinales wants new Barcelona chicane changed
MotoGP championship leader Maverick Vinales says he wants the "dangerous", new-for-2017 chicane at Barcelona changed after Catalunya Grand Prix practice
Following the death of Moto2 rider Luis Salom in a Friday practice accident last year, the 2016 weekend then utilised the Formula 1 layout and a new Turn 14-15 chicane for MotoGP was then installed over the winter.
Yamaha skipped May's test at the circuit and after trying it for the first time and seeing several riders crash and remain in the chicane, Vinales says he will look to discuss it further in Friday's Safety Commission.
"For me, it's dangerous," he said.
"[On Friday], it's FP1, FP2 and if you saw the bike is in the middle, you cut the grass, OK, slow down then you don't do your lap.
"In qualifying you're not going to slow down, you're going to push because you are coming for the hotlap.
"The rider is in the middle [of the corner], the bike is in the middle, the marshals are in the middle.
"If you crash in the second corner, you stay in the middle. If you crash in the first corner of the chicane, you go in the middle. It's very strange.
"Last year we had the wall quite close but the riders didn't go on the middle of the chicane.
"I'm going to try to ask [about a change]. I don't want to see myself in the middle."
Some riders had already expressed concerns, but Cal Crutchlow said he was perplexed by the criticism as they had chosen the chicane.
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso said he raised his points during the Mugello Safety Commission meeting, but did not have an obvious answer.
"I don't have the solution but in the safety commission in Mugello I explained this," he said.
"The problem is, if we have a higher kerb I think it is better because nobody cuts the kerb, but if you have a higher kerb and you crash a corner before, you hit the kerb.
"So it is difficult to find a solution we will speak today again in the Safety Commission in this moment I believe this is the best compromise but that doesn't mean we are safe."
PERPLEXED BY TOUGH DAY
Vinales managed only the 17th-fastest time on Friday afternoon, 1.515 seconds off the pace set by Marc Marquez, and seven tenths behind team-mate Valentino Rossi in 10th.
In the second race with Michelin's revised front-tyre construction, the Spaniard said the disparity between his feeling at Mugello was "something amazing".
"I cannot understand it," he said.
"At Mugello, FP1 I did three laps and a 1m46.7s and I was feeling great with the bike. Good feeling, good grip with both tyres.
"This morning with the soft tyre I was feeling quite good, not at maximum but I was quite good.
"The bike was working good. This afternoon with the medium was impossible. I could not ride that bike.
"If I did the race, I crash for sure. I did a 1m48s and I felt like I'm going to crash."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments