Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales returned to the MotoGP podium at Phillip Island and were all smiles despite ending the weekend 50 points behind series leader Marc Marquez and officially out of the 2017 title chase.

The smiles were for the podium places but also for a set-up experiment tried in the wet morning warm-up which not only worked on water but also in the dry race a couple of hours later. There, finally, seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

After the disastrous Japanese GP two weeks ago in the wet that saw Vinales finishing ninth and Rossi in the gravel, the double podium in Australia, the fourth double podium this year for the Yamaha guys, is a breath of fresh air for both sides of the garage and it is a true turning point for the final two races of the year and an indicator for the 2018 season.

“The turning point was the warm up,” a satisfied Vinales told bikesportnews.com. “I was comfortable on the bike in wet conditions and it looked like all of a sudden I had learned to ride on the water. I was joking about this with my team, but the truth is that bike was working well and I felt really comfortable.

“This morning we did a big change on the bike. We tested a different set-up we had never used before. I felt really comfortable the bike turns really well and I really liked it.  I will test it for sure also in Malaysia

“I started the race with this new set-up, but we improved a lot in different points. The team worked really well with the electronics and we improved a lot with the traction. I was strong also in braking and we improved entering the corner. It’s a pity that we have improved these aspects only in this final part of the season, but it’s s very positive signal. I’m happy and I need to thank also the team who continued working. Rossi as well did a great race.”

Rossi confirmed the good work done the team: “This morning I woke up and I knew exactly what I wanted from the bike. The team did a great job and I did the correct tyre choice opting for the medium rear. In the race I never gave up. It was an epic race to remember.

“Is Yamaha seeing the end of the tunnel? Myself, Maverick and Zarco were competitive on this track. But I can speak for myself: we worked well and we did the correct tyre choice.  I opted for the medium, the others for the soft, but we haven’t totally solved our problems. We need to keep on working for the 2018 season.”

Despite Valentino’s statement, the progress of the M1 was confirmed by team boss Maio Meregalli. “In the warm up we made a good step in the wet and this improvement is another positive point that we take away from this Grand Prix. This double podium result is very important for the team, especially after the challenging race in Motegi, and gives us a boost for Malaysia. We aim to continue this momentum in Malaysia as we still fight for the team and constructor titles.

Vinales now targets second in the title chase as he will try to overhaul Andrea Dovizoso, who is some 17 points clear. The Spaniard is happy to be racing again and was comfortable in the battle for second yesterday.

“It was so much fun. The truth is that time flew in the race. When I realized that there were only five laps to go, I told to myself that I had to hurry up and push even more. I was close also to finish second in front of Valentino. The battle with the front group was incredible, it looked more a Moto3 race and the truth is that I felt confident I could brake hard as I like. My strategy at the beginning as to save the tyres, but the battle started with the contact with Iannone, then Zarco. I think it would have been difficult to catch Marc, but the contact with Andrea made us lost the tow with Marc. The battle started then and I could not relax.

And the battle is not finished. “My fight for the title is over. Marc now can take it easy in the last two races. He can manage the gap and avoid risks. I think he has the title in his hands. From our side, we will keep on fighting. The first thing I watched was to understand how Dovi finished. My target now is to finish second in the world standing. The gap with Andrea Dovizioso is now minus 17, so we don’t give up. Honestly I was surprised by his performance in the race. I remember last year he was stronger and we fought hard on this track, so it’s strange that mid-race he was not there to fight, also because the race pace was much slower than last year. I thought we were fighting on the 1’29, but I saw 1’30... so I don’t know what happened to him.”