After shining two weeks ago in Austin, this was clearly not the case for Maverick Viñales at the Spanish GP, with the rider saying that “mixed or wet conditions”, combined with lack of experience in those same conditions with his current bike, did not help him. Still, there are some areas where he wants to see the RS-GP improve, something he will ask Aprilia to start developing.
In statements to the press, the Aprilia Racing rider began by explaining that the weather conditions played an important role in his performance, most likely due to lack of experience: ‘I always hope to go out and move forward, obviously. But the weekend was a bit overshadowed by the lack of experience in mixed or rainy conditions with the 2024 bike. We have to learn the lesson and be prepared in case a situation like this happens again. But despite starting from the back, warming up the tires and catching up with the times, I was in a battle with [Marco] Bezzecchi. So, we have to be positive and look ahead, because in a weekend where we couldn’t be where we needed to be, it wasn’t a bad position either. I think we were very lucky that some of our rivals also failed’.
Looking ahead to the Test taking place tomorrow, the pilot expects the times to be super fast, while explaining where improvements can be made and which areas need to be worked on: ‘It’s not going to rain tomorrow and the track is going to be amazing. It’s going to be 37 with one hand. But there are still things that need to be improved on the bike and there is room for improvement. I would like to improve the braking. The bike is still a bit sensitive. When I brake, I want to push the limit with the front until it slides a bit, the rear wants to pass me. So, we can work on these little things to be stronger in Le Mans’.
Furthermore, he also addressed the issue on DAZN: ‘Starting from this weekend, I will stick to the idea of improving. We have to improve and be prepared for all kinds of conditions. And put pressure on the team to make the bike have better starts; If I start in eleventh, I have to be in sixth on the first lap. So, I will put a lot of pressure on Noale to keep improving and to improve the start.’
