Maverick Viñales separated from Yamaha in the middle of 2021 to join Aprilia in MotoGP, taking a risky bet by switching from a constructor that was fighting for titles at the time to one that had not yet shown strong results. The progress since his arrival has been remarkable, culminating in a one-two finish at the Catalunya GP.
The Spanish rider confessed in a press conference that his teammate, Aleix Espargaró, was important in his decision, which is now bearing fruit: ‘Three years ago we were talking in his motorhome [Espargaró]. I wasn’t sure, because in the end it’s always difficult to make a bet like this. I had very good contracts, and in the end I bet on myself, I bet on Aprilia. Of course, Aleix had a lot of weight, because after all two good riders, two strong riders, can achieve much more than one and that’s what we’re doing: we’re pushing the factory forward‘.
E Viñales dio un ejemplo: ‘Al final pueden ver cuánto presionamos a la fábrica en Austria para traer algo a Barcelona para el inicio y lo lograron. Eso es lo bueno: tienen una respuesta rápida. Paso a paso, creo que podemos soñar, y eso es bueno – tan, tan bueno’.
