MotoGP Aragon J1 Viñales (Aprilia/20): “I still have a lot to learn”

Maverick Viñales had been warned by his new boss Rivola: he should not expect miracles for his debut in official competition with the Aprilia. And in fact, at the end of the first day of the Aragon Grand Prix, he is only 19th with an RS-GP that he must discover and understand before shaping it. Meanwhile, her teammate Aleix Espargaró, who has known her since 2017, is second in the standings with almost a second better on the clock...

Maverick Vinales will have to keep his spirits up and be patient in his new adventure Aprilia before returning to the summits that he surveyed with the Suzuki and recently the Yamaha . But he chose this challenge and, for the moment, he is taking it on. After the two free practice sessions in Aragon, he comments on his modest performance on the timesheet, but not so depressing overall: “ I just thought about adapting to the bike, which is not as easy as you might imagine »Comments Casa Particular in Viñales. " I did great individual sectors, so I'm very positive. We took a big step forward between the first and second session, not only in terms of time, but rather in terms of my feelings ».

« I think on Saturday we will improve even more. It's difficult to do well right away in 45 minutes, you don't have time to make big changes and try, you just think about shooting. The feelings were very positive ". However : " the way I have to approach the track is totally different. It's difficult to do what the bike asks of me, because I used to do things differently ". Concretely, he identifies his main pitfall at the moment: “ I brake too early, that's my problem because I was riding a completely different bike. But I'm getting closer and closer. Even in Misano it happened like this ».

« For me the acceleration is excellent, it's just the braking phase where I need to improve a lot. That's what's making me a little slow at the moment, but I think I'll get there, it's just a matter of continuing to work. To finish I only did 35 laps today, and that's not enough to think I have the bike in hand. I have collected a lot of data and I am sure we can make good progress » said the Spaniard.

Vinales: “ the engine and chassis philosophy are completely different« 

He adds : " there are so many different things to understand about motorcycling. When it comes to the handlebar controls, it's obviously different, there are so many buttons. The instrumentation too, but it takes very little in the end to get used to it. At the moment I'm not riding the bike to its full potential. was better. You have to stay calm and continue to work. We are far from being the best but with each session we will improve, I am sure ».

There is also this remark: “ we didn't do any particular teamwork, Aleix and I, but I saw his lines which are completely different from what I would have done ". So there is work to be done, but morale is always like the intention to succeed: “ I am happy, I freed myself from a burden that I had. Now I feel like I can breathe again. I don't set goals for myself. I still have to work a lot but I know the sensations are good. I'm happy with that, that's the really important thing. This allows me to arrive home in complete peace of mind, the rest will come by itself ».

Maverick Vinales ends with an interesting comparison: “ the Yamaha and Suzuki are very similar overall, so this change wasn't very difficult. While everything is different now, the engine and chassis philosophy are completely different. These are difficult things to learn quickly. I think I have good potential and also an acceptable pace now. It only takes a few steps forward to make an excellent lap time ».

MotoGP Aragon J1: times

Credit classification motogp.com