The Spanish rider missed the British Grand Prix last year when Yamaha decided to drop him from the bike and, subsequently, terminate his contract and separate him from the discipline of the Japanese team. It was the worst moment of Maverick Viñales’ career that, from having a contract until the end of 2023, suddenly found himself on the street.
However, the Catalan had a wild card up his sleeve, Aprilia’s interest and, above all, Aleix Espargaró’s insistence that he be his teammate. Just a week later, at Motorland, Maverick made his debut at the RS-GP.
The journey has not been easy, but little by little the boy from Roses has been taking control of the Aprilia. At the Dutch Grand Prix , the last one before the summer break, he achieved his first podium finish by finishing third. After the holidays, Maverick has returned just as or more determined to succeed, and came close to victory at Silverstone, securing second place. The goal now is to win the next race, in Austria, “a circuit that owes me one,” he says.
At Silverstone, Maverick was the picture of bliss, knowing that the risky move to Aprilia was never in doubt.
“I never doubted. I believed a lot in this project. I believe a lot and I also believe a lot in myself,” Mack released. “I always thought it was a matter of time, a matter of work.”
Although the beginning of the season did not go as well as expected, Maverick hoped to come out on top.
“We know we have the potential to be up front fighting in the races, as we have shown in the last few.”
Despite the outside noise, the Spaniard has always focused on himself, maintaining his line of work.
“Our focus is on ourselves. I’m still not at my best with the bike, with the tracks, so I keep working, I keep believing and I try to focus on the right things.”
Despite the fact that he caressed the victory and that he managed to overtake Pecco Bagnaia in the final part of the race to take first place, although he went slightly wide and lost the position, the Aprilia rider considers second place to be good, his best result of the year and with his new bike.
“It was a great result and I have my eye on the win because we believe in it. But I have my feet on the ground, finishing second is a fantastic result for us, we have come a long way here.”
“I started the season without the results I expected, and little by little we are building a good mood, good confidence and that is what we are looking for,” he said.
An improvement that the Catalan places in the Barcelona tests.
“It seems that the improvement started in the Montmeló test, where I found better sensations with the bike, and since then I can be on the podium”.
“With Aprilia we are working in the right direction and our mentality is to build a strong team and a strong bike to fight in every race, on every circuit, not just on a certain type of track,” concluded the boy from the Costa Brava .
