---
title: "Vinales: Championship gone if wet pace does not improve"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/09/22/vinales-championship-gone-if-wet-pace-does-not-improve/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2017-09-22T16:24:10Z"
modified: "2017-09-22T16:24:33Z"
---

# Vinales: Championship gone if wet pace does not improve

Maverick Vinales says a potential maiden MotoGP title will be unattainable if Yamaha fails to resolve its poor wet weather performance after a difficult Friday at a damp Aragon.

The 2017 YZR–M1 has lacked in performance during wet sessions this season compared to the Honda and Ducati, though Yamaha was able to make steps forward in this area at Misano with the 2018 prototype chassis and Vinales finished fourth.

![Dan Istitene/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/851509612.jpg)

However, the M1’s issues reappeared on Friday at Aragon, with Vinales only 17th on combined times on a 2m01.632s as a result – 1.7 seconds off of fastest man Dani Pedrosa.

Vinales – 16 points off of the championship lead – says the issue lies on the exit of corners, his M1 severely lacking in grip as he applies the power, which has been a common complaint from the Spaniard this year.

With the upcoming flyaway races prone to being affected by bad weather – last year’s Australian and Malaysian weekends were hit by rain – Vinales reckons a title tilt will be impossible if a solution is not found.

“(Today was) really difficult,” [the Spaniard said to Autosport.com following Friday’s running.](https://www.autosport.com/motogp)

“Honestly, we are really frustrated.

“In Misano we did a lot of steps forward with the bike on the wet, I was feeling good, especially with the front.

“But here it becomes so difficult on the bike. Especially the acceleration, there is not grip and so much spin that it becomes so difficult to make a lap.

“Going into the corners, I have grip, similar to Misano, but the traction area is the worst part.

“You always try to improve in the wet, as it’s also an important part of the game.

“There are some races now like Japan, Australia, Malaysia which can be a wet race. If we are competitive like this, the championship is gone.”

Vinales‘ main championship rivals, Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso – both of whom equal on 199 points at the top of the standings – ended Friday fourth and eighth respectively.