Maverick Vinales has signed to remain with the Monster Yamaha MotoGP team for two more years.

The Spaniard had been heavily tipped to join Ducati at the end of this year for a bike that would more suit his natural style, but it would appear Lin Jarvis has a large chqeuebook.

“I’m extremely happy because I feel like I get to keep ‘my own team’. This will be the second year with my current crew, and after this I have two more years to look forward to,” said Vinales.

“I’m so excited! I think that if we keep working really hard we are heading the right way. For me, it was very important to make this announcement before the season started, because I’m highly motivated and want to be able to fully concentrate on the 2020 season. I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about the future.

“There were no reasons not to stay with Yamaha, because they feel like family. Yamaha is giving me a lot of support and, as I said, I have ‘my own team’, which is something I really need.

We need to keep working and be very strong. Our main objective is, as always, to be World Champion and try to bring Yamaha the number one honour again.

“I will try my best. For sure, I will give everything I have to make our team proud too. I would like to say ‘Thank you’ to Yamaha for their faith in me. They are giving me a lot of confidence, and I really have trust in our partnership. I think we will both be growing very fast and we will keep pushing.”

Vinales will now stay in blue until the end of 2022 season but whether he will be joined by Valentino Rossi is another matter.