Switching bikes and teams during the championship is certainly not an easy task. If we then add the transition from the 4-cylinder in-line engine to the V4 engine, the task becomes even more complex. Nevertheless, Maverick Vinales had an excellent weekend in Aragon, where he finished 17th on the grid for the race.
When we think of Maverick’s talent and envision him so far from the leaders, it could be viewed as a disappointing Saturday. But the numbers don’t tell everything and it’s right to put them in perspective. Vinales arrived in Misano in Aragon after just two days of testing and decided to work calmly to avoid mistakes that would have undermined the learning process and the confidence building between the rider and the bike immediately. But the progress Maverick has made in every single session is absolutely encouraging and makes us optimistic about the future of this Italian-Spanish pairing represented by the “Top Gun” of the RS-GP and MotoGP.
“I’m pretty happy, even though I still have a lot of work to do on the lines that I have to do on the track because they are still too different from what we need – said Vinales was bad and that’s a good thing, but I keep thinking that there is still a long way to go, that I have to do a lot of laps and gather a lot of information before I can fully express myself I’m getting closer, I started the weekend two seconds behind; today I was less than a second behind. Tomorrow I think I can get closer The most important thing is to stay focused and not think too much about my competitors. I just have to think about how I can improve lap times with driving. That’s the really complicated thing for me. The truth is that the bike works well and I need to improve. “
Did you feel safe in your first attack?
“I have to admit that I drove completely wrong with my time attack. I just drive too fast into the corners and have to do the lap time differently. That’s good for the rhythm, of course, but not for the time attack. So I have to change my mind, I have to do more laps to understand how to do a good qualifying here. Overall we are very happy because we think we have a lot of leeway and that is the most important thing. I have to understand the bike, but I still need a lot of laps. This is not the easiest track, but it was good because you know the reality and the reality is that I have to work a lot on my driving style and understand the bike. “
You have made excellent progress in these two days …
“Yeah, and I feel great today, the progression was great. The grip in Q1 wasn’t perfect and it’s always difficult with the few minutes that are available. In FP4 I drove with very used tires and felt really good, which is very positive because in the past I had great difficulties when the tires were badly worn. Today I tried the hard tires for the first time in three years and it was positive. So it means that everything is different. So I have to learn and keep working. “
Have you analyzed Aleix’s data and compared it to yours?
“I see the data in every session and I just ride differently from Aleix, that’s all. I usually try to set the lap time by carrying a lot of speed in the middle of the corner, but this bike is made to go with another work riding style. There are also some positive points in the way I ride this bike but I have to learn to force the brakes and the tires on because the engine performance is completely different and I have yet to figure out how to make the most of it. “
And what about the tires?
“As for the tires, I feel very good. Today I used a lot of hard work and felt very comfortable and this is really something new for me. I I think I have good potential for the race. I still have to understand very well how to accelerate, because sometimes it seems to me that I’m doing it too early, throwing the bike into a crisis ”.
Which aspect of the RS-GP do you like best at the moment?
“What I like about the bike is that the acceleration is really good. I mean the progression of the engine. I just have to understand the torque because it’s different. Obviously it’s completely different and I have to understand it because it behaves like this in a round corner and differently in the felling zone. So I have to get used to getting the maximum power out of acceleration. But what I also like is that I could use the hard front and that gave me a lot of feedback on hard braking. That was something I wasn’t used to, I was used to always using the switch, with a slightly unstable feeling. Using the hard one gives you good stability and that is something beautiful. I also have to work on the brakes. I think it’s the area that has changed a lot more than the rest. “
If you had to duel Quartararo in the race, how would you feel?
“This is not the time to think about it, also because I have a lot to learn before I can ask myself this question. Now is the time to learn. They all go very fast and it will take time but I believe that I will gradually be able to express my potential with this bike too “.
Do you think that after four days on the bike you can define this Aprilia as a race or flying lap bike?
“Such an assessment is complicated because I still can’t get the most out of the RS-GP, so I can’t judge things very well. I have to go to the limit and then I’ll” To understand things like that, I have it At the moment I don’t think we have researched enough to say what the real strength of this bike is and which is the weak. I have to take a few more steps before I can give my opinion. I like cornering, I just have to figure out how not to lose time when braking. “