After having, in the part XNUMX of this article from this story, thrown into the saddles of Avintia, Maverick following a single meteoric season in Moto2, made his debut with the all-new Suzuki in MotoGP in 2015. His inaugural year in this category went satisfactorily. with two sixth places, a first row in qualifying, and the final twelfth position in the Championship.
If these results were not in themselves extraordinary, they must be put in their context of a rookie rider on a new bike in a beginner team. For example, Maverick ultimately finished only seven points behind his teammate Aleix Espargaro who had four seasons and 2015 races in MotoGP to his credit at the start of 76. His good performances attracted interested eyes from the biggest teams to Vinales, and his manager Aki Ajo soon found himself with very interesting offers, including that of Yamaha who was to replace Jorge Lorenzo who was leaving for Ducati. Maverick had conquered Annapurna, all he had to do was climb Everest.
But going to Yamaha with a graceful ballerina jump would not have been in the Vinales tradition: where there is no hassle, there is no pleasure! The Spaniard had simply signed a contract with Suzuki for 2016, including an option for 2017 in favor of the manufacturer, specifying that Vinales agreed to stay with Suzuki if this company wished. Obviously Maverick wanted to go to Yamaha. The ball was in Suzuki's court, who certainly did not want the Spaniard to leave. Should he be forced to respect his contract?
Vinales was then left with only three solutions for 2017:
– Running with Suzuki, constrained and forced,
– Racing with Yamaha, after Suzuki’s agreement,
– Do not run at all.
After a long reflection, the Suzuki staff decided to release him, believing that there would be no point in forcing a rider to race against his will. It is unclear whether Suzuki requested financial compensation from Vinales for its failure, or from Yamaha, but it appears that this was not the case. Aki Ajo, a man of his word, disapproved of Maverick's choice not to respect his contract with Suzuki and he gave up being his manager. Shortly after his resignation, he was replaced by Spanish business lawyer Paco Sánchez, who handled the careers of the Espargaro brothers, among others.
Is your fiancée a Motocross World Champion?
Since the summer of 2015, Vinales has had a close friend Kiara Fontanesi, a four-time winner of the women's cross country world championship. They train together, Maverick having practiced this discipline for a very long time and therefore having a good level. “ And when in the gym one of us lacks motivation, the other pushes him ».
Maverick is therefore in great shape to enhance his record with Yamaha this year. The big loser this offseason was Suzuki, that said with respect for Iannone. Remember that Suzuki won the 500 World Championship with Kevin Schwantz in 1993, the SBK World Championship with Troy Corser in 2005, the Supersport World Championship with Stéphane Chambon in 1999 and of course 15 world titles with SERT in endurance.
And since we're talking about Suzuki in Grand Prix, how can we not pay tribute to Mitsuo itoh who has just celebrated his 80th birthday. He is the only Japanese rider to have ever won the TT. It was 1963 and he was riding a 50cc Suzuki RK3 67-speed, which took 14 revs. Something to keep you busy on the Tourist Trophy route.
To close the subject, here is the interview (in English) of Maverick by his new Team Director Lin Jarvis
