Maverick Vinales continues to work hard to bring out the best of all of his talent at Aprilia. The Spaniard is doing work on the motorcycle that was not possible for him on the race weekends and which seem to be producing some very positive results. The Spaniard was very optimistic at the end of the Jerez tests, knowing full well that he has an RS-GP in his hands that has not yet fully exploited its potential.
The Achilles heel of Vinales on Aprilia has always slowed down, But the engineers from Noale were able to help him from this point of view by intervening in the motorcycle’s electronics. In addition, the data gathered over these two days is essential to work on the innovations that will be launched in 2022. in the Sepang tests. Maverick’s desire and enthusiasm are clear in his words.
“We want to make the most of every day we have, because sometimes it is difficult to move the bikes and equipment quickly from one track to another all year round. But we’ll do our best in the test days, we know how much work we have to do. Even taking small steps now will mean a lot during the season. I will definitely go to Noale to talk about these tests, my feelings. I can’t wait to keep working and improve the RS-GP. “
Have you tested any new things here that worked?
“We haven’t tested anything specific on the bike, but We worked a lot on the brakes this is an area in which I still suffer a lot in the race, but thanks to the electronics we have made a big step forward and are therefore satisfied with the way these tests went and how we have worked specifically on this aspect. “
A problem that immediately plagued you with Aprilia.
“The Yamaha braked differently and I’m still adapting. The guys help me a lot by giving me a quieter bike, especially in corners, thanks to the work on the engine brake. I needed it to feel calmer and more secure when driving into corners. This modification allows me to brake later and harder so it’s fantastic. The electronic control of the transmission when braking has also improved, which helps us both on the flying lap and at the race pace. We have to take further steps forward, we are not yet where we want to be. “
In what other areas would you like to see some steps forward?
“For me we have to improve with shooting, but we have very clear ideas about what needs to be done in order to improve. We’ll have to wait for Sepang to get back to work but it’s great to have a clear direction so I’m very happy with the way these tests have gone. We didn’t have any other bike than Valencia, we have to wait for Sepang for those things. We will certainly have a lot of new things ”.
Don’t you think that maybe it would have been better to do more tests before making your racing debut with Aprilia?
“I don’t regret starting the races straight away with the Aprilia, it was important to understand how it worked during a race weekend. I’ve taken it as a period of time we can improve and in the tests we keep improving. Driving the races was very important in my opinion “.
At this point in time, what do you expect from 2022?
“It’s hard to expect anything specific. We have to wait for Sepang, after these tests we will have a lot of information on how we can work for the future. I want to wait before I say anything about my expectations, because I feel a very high potential in the motorcycle, I can feel it clearly. We have to extract it and do it step by step. In Aprilia they have the time to work and I think that in Sepang we will have a lot of things that make life in the saddle easier for us riders. “