VIÑALES RENEWS CONTRACT WITH YAMAHA FOR 2021-2022
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce that Maverick Viñales has signed with the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team for another two years.
Gerno di Lesmo (Italy), January 28, 2020
It is with great pleasure that Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Maverick Viñales as one of the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP riders for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Viñales has shown great driving, motivation and consistency so far in his three years racing with the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team in the MotoGP World Championship. The successful partnership led to a third place overall in 2017, a fourth place in 2018 and another third place in 2019.
Other Yamaha highlights in the Spaniard’s résumé include 6 wins and 19 podiums, including his Yamaha debut race and Yamaha’s 500.
These accomplishments, along with his undeniable talent and unwavering determination, give Yamaha complete confidence in partnering with the 25-year-old. On February 6th, they will start the first MotoGP test of the year in Sepang, Malaysia, starting their 2020 season to take the title in the premier class.
LIN JARVIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR, YAMAHA MOTOR RACING
We brought Maverick to the Factory team in 2017 because we knew he was a special talent. He is highly motivated and physically committed and is always ready to give his maximum and get the best out of his YZR-M1. In his first three seasons with us, he brought Yamaha 6 wins, 19 podiums and 100% of his commitment. Now that the YZR-M1 is improving race by race, we see a very bright future for it at Yamaha. Maverick’s decision to sign with the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team for two more years at this early stage shows the strength of our mutual respect and underscores the shared belief that we can fight for the MotoGP World Championship together.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
YAMAHA FACTORY RACING MOTOGP DRIVERS
I am very happy because I have the feeling that I can keep “my own team”. This will be the second year with my current crew, and after that I have two more years to look forward to. I’m so excited! I think if we keep working hard we are on the right track. It was very important for me to make this announcement before the start of the season, because I am highly motivated and want to be able to concentrate fully on the 2020 season. I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about the future. There was no reason not to stay with Yamaha because they feel like family. Yamaha supports me a lot and, as I said, I have “my own team”, which I really need. We have to keep working and be very strong. As always, our main goal is to become world champions and bring Yamaha the number one honor again. I will do my best. I will of course do everything I can to make our team proud. I would like to say “thank you” to Yamaha for trusting me. You trust me a lot and I have great faith in our partnership. I think we will both grow very quickly and keep pushing.
About Maverick Viñales:
Age: 25
Height: 1.71 m
Weight: 64kg
Total grands prix contested: 158
Grand Prix victories: 23
Grand Prix podiums: 63
Grand Prix pole positions: 20
World title: 1
MotoGP
2019 – 3rd, race wins 2nd
2018 – 4th, race wins 1st
2017 – 3rd, race wins 3rd
2016 – 4th, race wins 1st
2015 – 12th, race wins 0
Moto2
2014 – 3rd, race wins 4th
Moto3
2013 – 1st, race wins 3rd
2012 – 3rd, race wins 5th
125cc
2011 – 3rd, race wins 4th
Biography of Maverick Viñales:
Viñales was born on January 12, 1995 in Figueres, Spain. He started minimoto racing at the age of three before switching to motocross. In 2002, his passion for speed led him to circuit racing. He competed in the Catalan 50cc championship and followed with several successful seasons on the 70cc “Metrakit” motorcycles.
Viñales won the Catalan 125cc championship title in 2007, successfully defended his crown in 2008 and won the Mediterranean trophy that same year. In the following year he started for RZT Racing at selected events in the German IDM 125GP Championship on an Aprilia RS 125 R and achieved seventh place as the best result. In 2009 he was promoted to the CEV Buckler 125GP series and worked with Miguel Oliveira on the Blusens BQR team. Viñales won the Rookie of the Year award, was runner-up behind Alberto Moncayo in the championship standings with just four points and took four podiums in a row this season.
In 2010 Viñales and Oliveira joined various Blusens teams and fought for the CEV Buckler 125GP Championship Title. Although Viñales won two races ahead of Oliveiras four, Viñales won the title by two points as he finished on the podium in all seven races of the season. The European title was also decided between the two drivers, and again it was Viñales who prevailed.
The Spaniard switched to the 125cc World Championship with the SuperMartxé VIP team for the 2011 season. He impressed in the pre-season tests in Valencia and finished ninth on his Grand Prix debut in Qatar. After retiring in Jerez due to a technical problem, Viñales finished fourth in Estoril and just missed a podium for Johann Zarco in a photo finish with a margin of just 0.002 seconds. Two weeks later at Le Mans, Viñales started his first start from the front row in third place and, at the age of 16 years and 123 days, clinched his first win with a 0.048 second lead. This incredible performance made him the third youngest driver to win a Grand Prix race, behind Scott Redding and Marco Melandri. With three more victories in the same year, Viñales ended his first Grand Prix season in third place in the championship standings and was named Rookie of the Year.
The youngster went into the newly formed Moto3 championship as the title favorite in the 2012 season. He won five races on the Blusens Avintia FTR Honda at the beginning of the season, but a lack of consistency, a few misfortunes and a dispute with his team led to a missed race in Malaysia, which enabled Cortese to win the title and Luis Salom, grabbed second place in the final standings, while Viñales finished third overall.
The next year, the young man moved to Team Calvo alongside Ana Carrasco. He won his first two races in a row at the Spanish and French Grand Prix and kept his competitive form throughout the season by fighting at the front of the field. Viñales, Rins and Salom went into the finals five points behind. The championship was decided in Valencia by a fight between Rins and Viñales. In the end, Viñales took the race win and the Moto3 world championship title with a lead of twelve points.
The Moto3 world champion then signed a Moto2 deal with Pons Racing, joining former title rivals Salom. Viñales did not wait long for his first victory in the intermediate class, which took place on April 13, 2014 at the Circuit of the Americas. In the end, he finished the season with four wins and nine podiums in third place and thus secured another Rookie of the Year award.
In September 2014 it was announced that Viñales would be promoted to the premier class for the 2015 season and drive for the Suzuki factory team. Although he was a rookie and drove for a factory that was returning to MotoGP, he had a very good MotoGP season. With points in 16 of 18 races in a competitive field and under difficult conditions, the young contender proved to be a remarkable driver. He finished the season in 12th place, won the Rookie of the Year Award again, completing his collection (125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP).
In 2016 Viñales shone again. He finished third at round five in France, took his first MotoGP podium, and it wasn’t long before he climbed to the top of the podium. In the twelfth race, the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit, he clinched his first MotoGP victory. He finished the season strong with two more third places in Japan and Phillip Island to secure fourth place in the championship. His talent and strong mentality were undeniable and did not go unnoticed by Yamaha, who signed Viñales for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Viñales lived up to the hype. After a very strong debut on the YZR-M1 in preparation for the season, the young Spaniard won the first two races in Qatar and Argentina. He later built on this success by securing Yamaha its 500th Le Mans Grand Prix victory after a sensational battle with teammate Valentino Rossi. Although the season was filled with grip problems, the Spaniard scored solid points, finishing second at Mugello and Silverstone and third at Brno and Phillip Island to eventually finish the season in third.
After such a strong first year with the Yamaha Factory MotoGP team, Viñales wanted to show his talent again in 2018, but the season turned out to be one of the most difficult of his career in the premier class. Nevertheless, the Spaniard kept his motivation high and took podium places in the races at COTA, Circuit TT-Assen, Sachsenring and Buriram. He returned to winning form in the Phillip Island race and gave Yamaha its first win since the Assen race a year earlier. He finished the season in fourth place overall, just five points behind his teammate in third place.
2019 marked a fresh start for Viñales. He changed his driver number from # 25 to # 12 and welcomed the new crew chief Esteban García to his side of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP box (he had worked with him in 2013 and won the Moto3 World Championship). After a difficult start to the season, the changes made bore fruit. Although the Spaniard was knocked out three times by other drivers (in Argentina, France and Catalonia) in the first half of the season, he still made regular podiums in 2019. He finished third in Jerez and followed with a breathtaking win at Assen, second at the Sachsenring, third at Silverstone, Misano and Buriram and another epic win in Malaysia. Viñales’ relentless determination earned him third place overall in the championship and motivates him to push 100% in 2020.