Maverick Vinales believes that his first victory with Aprilia in MotoGP at the Americas Grand Prix holds a “unique significance” compared to his wins with Yamaha and Suzuki. After setting a lap record and converting pole position into a Sprint victory, Vinales overcame a poor start that dropped him to 11th place to secure a commanding win. It took him 13 laps to make his way back to the front of the field, overtaking rookie Pedro Acosta on the GasGas along the way. This win solidified Vinales’ place in the record books as the first rider in the MotoGP era to win a premier class grand prix with three different manufacturers.
Vinales acknowledged that his latest achievement at the Circuit of the Americas holds special sentimental value due to the state of the Aprilia team when he joined in 2021. “Certainly, the win with Aprilia carries a different significance because when I signed with them, they were performing at P15, P10, and seeing how much progress we have made as a factory,” he shared with Autosport. “Undoubtedly, we are a major factory. However, we still need time to improve and be more consistent. But I see a lot of potential ahead of us this year. We need to be intelligent and focused on our work, particularly in situations like what happened in Portimao with the gearbox. It’s about gaining more experience and time at the front, and building up that confidence. We have to keep pushing because big factories win races. We proved that today, so we should be very happy and proud of our accomplishments. But of course, what I achieved today was more challenging because we started from the back and now we’re on top.”
There were doubts surrounding Vinales following the unpleasant end to his time with Yamaha in mid-2021 and his teammate Aleix Espargaro’s victories in the past two seasons. However, Vinales has bounced back from rumors about his future and currently sits in third place in the Riders’ Championship, 24 points behind Jorge Martin of Pramac, who leads the standings. The former Yamaha rider now believes that his Aprilia bike is not only fast when leading the race but also when in a pack of riders, unlike in previous seasons. “In the past, I didn’t have the same capabilities that I have now, especially when it comes to overtaking because, as you know, I struggled to stay close to other riders in the past,” he explained. “But with the bike I have now, I can really push the limits when braking, and although it’s not easy to make passes, I can attempt them. And that’s fantastic. I have the tools to try it, and that’s a huge advantage because you can’t always start and lead the race from the first corner. So, you have to fight, and all these guys are braking late and battling. And I’m right there with them, so it’s really amazing.”