Vinales wary of Abraham influence on Argentina race

Aspar Ducati privateer Abraham put himself second on the grid for what will be the second race since his MotoGP return, the Czech rider splitting the Honda duo of Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow on the front row.

Ducati's bikes enjoy a straightline speed advantage, and with the Termas de Rio Hondo track featuring a main straight of almost 1100m in the first half of the lap, Vinales believes Abraham could play a role out front early in the grand prix.

“Well, it's going to be difficult to overtake Abraham on the straight,” Vinales conceded when asked whether the rain-shuffled grid could lead to a slower tempo of the race.

“I think if he makes a good start, he'll pull away, he can pass to the first position.”

Vinales set the pace in practice on Friday, but will start sixth on Sunday following the wet practice session.

Having dropped from pole to fifth on the first lap of the Qatar season opener, which he won, the Spaniard says he won’t be going “crazy” early in the Argentina race.

“I'm going to try to take it easy, take it lap by lap. I know I have a good pace, I can do [1m]39s.

“I don't have to take so much risk in the early laps. I have to gain some positions, but not 'crazy', like to be in first already from the first lap.”

Rossi's problems same in wet and dry

While Vinales' Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi didn't have enough pace in the dry to secure a Q2 bye on Friday practice, but the Italian's fortunes did improve in the wet as he advanced through Q1 and took seventh on the grid.

However, Rossi admitted after the session that the lack of feeling on corner entry with Yamaha's 2017 bike – something that led to him saying he was in “big, big trouble” on Friday – was prevalent in the wet conditions as well.

“I have the same feeling on the entry. Last year I was stronger. The old bike, for me, was more natural,” he said.

“With this one I have to force it more, it’s something more difficult. But I think that working on the balance, on the setting, we can improve.”

Rossi qualified 0.054s off Vinales, which the latter viewed as a positive result, saying he was happy to outpace Rossi in conditions the Italian was famously strong in.

Vinales said: “I'm the first Yamaha - and I think Valentino is like the wizard of the wet. He is always in the front.

“So I'm quite happy and confident that, in a full wet condition and with the bike that has a good traction, I can be there.”

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont