Maverick Viñales: "Five victories, four poles they are good numbers, without a doubt"

Last stop for the Repsol team riders and we make it in the revelation of last year and second in the general classification of the MotoGP World Championship in the Moto3 category, Maverick Viñales.

The Spanish rider is nine points behind KTM rider Sandro Cortese and accumulates five wins in his locker, more than anyone but also two zeros, which have reduced his overall score.

Throughout the first part of the season he has seen the KTMs distance themselves at the beginning until Honda evolved its engine and allowed them to become competitive again, although again the Austrian brand has put the batteries and they are again a little step behind.

Like Dani Pedrosa commented that the current 1000 are very similar to the old 990, lMoto3's don't differ too much from last year's 125, being a bit slower and easier to pilot to the limit.

I leave you with the last interview:

Second in the general classification of Moto3, nine points behind the leader. Five victories, one second place and four pole positions in nine events. Satisfied with this first half of the calendar? Yes, totally. You check it yourself when you list the results. Five wins, four poles… they are good numbers, without a doubt.

Would you have signed before the start of the season to find yourself in this situation? Yeah right. Who does not? I think no one would have hesitated to sign.

The fact is that, with fewer victories, Sandro Cortese is at the top of the table. Regularity also counts towards aspiring to be World Champion, right? Definitely. It is important to be regular and not fail. But it is also important to be quick and decisive at specific times.

Best and worst moment lived so far this season? Every victory becomes the best moment. The worst, maybe Germany.

After nine tests, you have interspersed very good results with Grand Prix in which you have not been happy with your performance. What affects more for the next race, the motivation for a victory or the desire to do well after a bad result? One can lead to the other. The desire to do well is the way to victory.

Several World Champions predict that only two zeros can be allowed in a season. This year, with the results in France and Germany, you have already covered the quota, do you think this is the case or what, since it is such a tight World Cup, is there still room for error? Well, these are not exact data and are usually opinions. It is clear that the fewer zeros you have the better, but when you dispute such an even championship, everyone runs the risk of failing. Just in case we will try not to make it happen again.

Being a new category, this has been a first half of the season with many tests and modifications for the factories. What is your assessment of the performance and evolution of the FTR-Honda to date? What do you ask for the remaining races? The evolution has been very good. At the beginning of the year the bike was less fast than the KTM. Later, Honda made an evolution that put us in a position to fight against the Austrian engines, and in the last tests, the KTMs worked very well again. Anyway, although we have to keep working, my team has managed to give me a very competitive bike.

There are still 8 tests left, including a tour of Asia and Oceania, will this second half of the Championship be more demanding than the first? Yeah right. It is always more demanding because it is the end and you play the championship. There is less and less evidence left and therefore less margin.

Sandro Cortese and you are separated by just 9 points, while the third place, Luis Salom, is more than 50 of you. How would you define who is going to be your direct rival for the title between now and the end of the season? He is a strong and regular driver. There is no doubt that he is a great rival and that still gives more value to the races in which I manage to beat him.

After competing last season on a 125cc and this one on Moto3, how do you assess the change? Without too many differences, it is what we saw after testing the bike for the first time. We knew that there would be an evolution of the category, that the bikes ran less and that they were somewhat easier to ride. In my opinion, it is an interesting category.

What is Maverick Viñales doing in this summer break? Holidays? Take the opportunity to be with my people, rest, distract myself and also train. A little rest and a little training

And finally and as a curiosity, why a wild boar as a pet? It's because of the nickname my team gave me. I guess because of my aggressive and fighting attitude on the track. The truth is that I like it a lot