This Sunday June 26, 2022, Maverick Vinales answered questions from journalists from the TT Circuit Assen at the end of the Dutch Grand Prix.
After the disappointment of seeing his Aprilia collapse at Sachsenring, the Catalan was able to bounce back perfectly at Assen to obtain his first podium with the RS-GP of Noale.
As usual, we report here the words of Maverick Vinales without any formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Maverick, the race was difficult since you started 11th and the rain flags were waved, but it's a fantastic first podium that you get with the Aprilia factory...
Maverick Vinales : " It was a very difficult race, but I had a lot of fun. We arrived from the Sachsenring where we thought we could fight for the podium, so we kept our motivation and our momentum. After the warm up, I knew I would be able to fight at the front but I never expected to move up so quickly on the first lap. What can I say ? Just thanks to Aprilia because they do a fantastic job and have always believed in me every day, and we are achieving these results step by step. I know our potential is very high and the road will be long, but now we are going to Silverstone and Misano, many tracks where I am very fast and where I will try to fight for victory. It's not easy because there are some drivers who are really very strong and are at a very high level, but little by little we are getting closer. »
Were you surprised to see Aleix Espargaró behind you at the finish?
« Honestly, I thought he had given up (laughs) but I turned around and saw him: “oh, ok, he was very fast”. But anyway, I'm happy for Aprilia. We both wanted to be on the podium but I'm happy for Aprilia, for the whole Piaggio group, because they don't give up: they work very hard! And I am also very happy for Aleix because he is getting closer to the championship and it can be a very good second part of the season. So we will fight for this. If I have a chance to help him, I will: I will help Aprilia! You know, our mindset is always to work as a team, and there are many signs, since Mugello, that we work very well together, and I think that makes us very strong. »
Since you moved to Aprilia, you seem happy and faster and faster: Do you think that this first podium will allow you to have an even better second part of the season?
« A lot has happened but right now I'm the happiest man in the world: I can't ask for anything more! I have a very competitive bike, a very good group, a beautiful entire Aprilia factory which is behind me and which pushes me every day, I have a magnificent family: I can't ask for anything more! I dreamed of all this and I'm ready to attack, I'm ready to be in front. I will attack every day very hard, I will make myself even stronger, and it is not easy because currently the level is very strong in MotoGP, but I know what I am capable of. So I will force and force and force, and we will see where I am in the last few races of the year. »
Six or seven races ago you said you knew this was going to happen and you just had to put it all together: is that the case?
« It is the consequence of hard work and not giving up every day. The thing is that we are, is that my races were very strong: I remember that in Austin I was very strong but I started 15th and I couldn't show it in the race . In Mugello we arrived very strong, Montmeló, Sachsenring, I felt my potential was to be at the front, but I have to improve qualifying because, ok, in the last two races I had a fantastic first lap and I was quickly in front, but somehow I feel that my potential can be much greater if I start in front or on the second row. So our main goal for the second part of the season is to improve qualifying, because we are quite strong when it comes to pace. That's the only way, try to start from the front, and then I can manage the tire better. So I'm ready! »
What exactly do you need to improve in qualifying?
« Currently, for one reason or another, I am not able to get the most out of the bike in qualifying. Especially when I have a new rear tire, the bike pushes the front and I am not able to close the corner, so I am very slow in the middle of the corner and I lose time. Overall, I do roughly the same times with a new tire and with a worn tire. Which is good, it's a good sign, because we are strong in racing, but we also have to tune the bike to go one lap. »
Could there be team instructions during the second half of the season?
« Of course, if in the second part of the season I become stronger, we will become better and if Aleix is very close in the championship, of course we will have to think about Aprilia. We have to think about the group, and if I have the opportunity in a race to be faster than Aleix and it is important that he finishes in front of me for the championship… In the end, I work for Aprilia and he It is clear that I will try to help Aleix. We've been working well together since Mugello, we've found a way to work together to make us stronger, so it's clear: if Aleix has a chance to fight for the championship, and I have to let him pass, I will do it. We work for Aprilia, for the Piaggio group, and if Aleix has a chance, I will help him, of course. »
You talk about your cooperation with Aleix and we now see you talking together during sessions, but does it go beyond that and do you also collaborate on track?
« We work together almost all the time. For example there are a few tracks where I do a small amount of things better than Aleix, and where he does a lot of things better than me, so it's a learning process: we each learn from each other. Here I tried to help him a little at turn 12 and he helped me at turn 15. This is the way to work, on the track we give our best but off it we have to work and stay focused: It's a long season and we have a dream, which is to make Aprilia world champion, and it doesn't matter the result if he is first or I am first. We want to make this bike competitive and at the top, and that's the way to do it: we help each other. At Mugello we helped each other on the gearboxes, and here I try to help Aleix in a few corners where I was stronger than him. And I learn from him every day, because he knows the bike very well and today it fits him like a glove on his hand. I need to learn different things from him.
»
Results of the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix MotoGP at TT Assen:
Credit classification : MotoGP.com
