Maverick Viñales will have his third full-time season with the Aprilia Racing Factory in 2024, to which he will add five races in 2021, after the end of his relationship with Yamaha. Still looking for his first victory, the rider has more opportunity than ever to prove that he is (the true) successor to Aleix Espargaró and then make MotoGP history.
The Spaniard has been promising since 2022, a season in which Aprilia made a huge qualitative leap and where A. Espargaró even fought for the title, with three podiums (Assen, Silverstone and Spielberg), with the number of these increasing in 2023, where he also showed he was capable of maintaining a very high pace in the Sprint races.
Viñales was second in the opening round of the championship in Portugal, then had four complete races in which he didn’t finish, before again excelling in the Sprint at Silverstone with a third place, but it was in Catalunya that he shone brightest, with a third place in the Sprint and a second in Sunday’s main race. He would return to the podium in the main race in Indonesia.
The year 2024 is set to be a decisive one, both for the manufacturer and for the team’s rider duo as both end their contracts, in a year in which its satellite team – Trackhouse Racing – will be better «equipped», with Miguel Oliveira having the same bike as the factory riders.
It is therefore relevant to question whether this year could be “THE” year for Viñales with Aprilia, and a year in which he will once again attempt something that neither Valentino Rossi nor Jorge Lorenzo have done: win GPs with three different factory teams, something that very few have managed to do.
Only four riders have managed to do it, Mike Hailwood, Randy Mamola, Eddie Lawson, and this is yet another motivation for Viñales, who can in one «hit» guarantee his continuity at Aprilia and take on a major role in the development of the RS-GP and succeed A. Espargaró in that respect, as well as, of course, making history.
And you, do you think Viñales has what it takes to win (finally) with Aprilia this year?