A few years ago, the idea that Aprilia’s MotoGP team would be able to poach a big name star like Maverick Vinales from Yamaha, let alone do it in the middle of the season, would have been unthinkable.
But, following the incredible progress made by the Noale firm in recent years, it’s now the reality.
And it could well be that Vinales is the golden ticket that Aprilia has been searching for in its quest for MotoGP success.
Since joining the team mid-way through last season, Vinales hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, but look more closely and you’ll see how rapidly he’s improving.
From running podium pace during the Misano race last year to ending the opening day of the Sepang test only second to teammate Aleix Espargaro, there are plenty of positive signs.
And, with Vinales on one side of the garage and Silverstone podium finisher Espargaro on the other for the full 2022 season, team boss Massimo Rivola fully believes this is the year where Aprilia finally delivers on the promise that it’s hinted at for a while now.
“We start this year with two riders who compete on the same level,” Rivola told The Race in an exclusive interview.
“We know that in one second Aleix can really switch on and do the lap time. We know that Maverick is getting confident lap by lap, and to be honest, I saw Maverick very fast on used tyres. That’s a very good sign of his confidence.
“I think that still we are not giving him exactly what he wants. For sure this bike is a big step forward for him in the direction that he wants, but still I think we need to sort a few problems in a few dynamic phases of the bike where he suffers.
“We’ve seen from the telemetry that he’s suffering, but when we manage to put everything in place, Maverick will be very fast.”
With a much-improved bike for the coming season, there is a sense of genuine potential there to be exploited. As Aprilia makes another step forward from last winter with a smaller, more nimble and agile bike, Rivola concedes that there’s still work to be done before it’s just right – but it’s clear that there’s anticipation to see what it’s capable of.
“Sepang is a track that’s very long,” the former Ferrari Formula 1 boss explained, “but it is complete – it has all the different phases, all the different kinds of corners. We can really see our strong points and our weak points.
“Still we are too weak where we were weak, and we need to work a lot to solve that area. If we sort it, then we can be competitive, very competitive.
“I don’t want to tell you, but it looks like we are the only ones suffering a lot of chatter. We’re missing a bit of power, a bit of turning, a lot of braking.
“We need to discover the new bike, being smaller and more agile, and sort out the downside of having such a kind of bike.”
So what is a good year for Aprilia in 2022? Well, while Rivola won’t be drawn on specifics, it’s obvious what the goal is: turning the 2021 podium-finishing bike into one that’s capable of repeating that feat on a more regular basis.
“I don’t want to say the position, but our target for Qatar is to be competitive,” says Rivola.
“We’ve always been quite competitive with our bike in Qatar, and there’s no reason not to be again this year. Then we will see when we start moving around the world.
“More than the position, I look at the gap from first. In 2019, it was around 30 seconds. In 2020, it was around 20s. In 2021, it was around 10. So if we manage to gain two tenths a lap from the leader, it means we’re five seconds away – and that would be perfect.
“But five years ago, five seconds from the leader would have been on the podium of every race. Now, it’s P15!
“MotoGP during the past few years has made a step in performance and technology that is quite impressive, to be honest. But still, my personal target and the one that I am pushing for is this.
“If we are two tenths from the leader, we can be around the podium all the time.”
That’s over the course of the whole season, of course – but if the past few seasons have shown us anything, it’s that there are tracks where the Aprilia can go above and beyond the team’s own expectations – and where either Vinales or Espargaro could deliver the next step in this fairytale story.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Phillip Island, also Assen, maybe even the Sachsenring could be interesting,” Rivola said. “Qatar is another one, and of course Silverstone. We can be very fast, but let’s see.
“Considering the characteristics we see now compared to the competitors, at these kind of tracks, we can be fast. It looks interesting!”