VOL. 55 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 30, 2018 P55
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
Y
amaha's wait in the wilderness is over.
The company's longest-ever winless
streak—25 races—was ended, emphati-
cally, at the beautiful seaside circuit of Phillip
Island, where Maverick Vinales rode the fac-
tory Movistar M1 to a clear and assured victory.
It was a moment of massive relief for the
23-year-old Spaniard and the whole team. But
while it proved there may be light at the end of
the tunnel, the rider sounded a note of cau-
tion. "Today was so good, after a difficult time,
and I'd lost a bit of self-confidence. We have a
great chassis, but we need to improve the en-
gine and the electronics before we can make a
challenge next season."
And teammate Valentino Rossi fell back from
an early second to finish sixth, blaming familiar
corner-exit wheel-spin problems.
The sweeping 2.7-mile circuit south of
Melbourne, a great favorite for all, is known
as more of a riders' track than one that favors
any particular mechanical strengths. Vinales
proved it in in a fine 27-lap race, in front of the
mercifully dry Australian fans, after cold and
gusty winds and smatterings of rain had jeopar-
Over
It's been 25 races since Yamaha last won in MotoGP, and
fittingly it was the number 25 of Maverick Vinales who
ended the drought at his favorite track of Phillip Island
