Maverick Vinales may not be traveling to Aprilia for 20 years …

While Maverick Vinales’ exit from Yamaha at the end of the 2021 MotoGP season has now been sanctioned, the lack of communication of his predicted Aprilia Racing goal was a bit noticeable.

After a spate of rumors at the start of the Dutch TT weekend, Yamaha confirmed that Vinales will indeed be leaving his team at the end of the season, a year earlier than foreseen in his original contract.

The same rumors suggest that a deal with Aprilia is imminent, but the silence from the Italian team heading into summer break has sparked talks that alternative plans may be formulated that Vinales might see en route to VR46 Racing.

On the subject of matching items

At Assen, VR46 Racing confirmed that it will move up to the MotoGP class with Ducati machines next season. Though its drivers are yet to be announced, Luca Marini is expected to land one of the spots, while VR46 titleholders – Saudi oil giant Aramco – are particularly keen to get owner Rossi on the other.

Rossi himself has been shy about the prospect of disconnecting from Yamaha to ride for his own team, but paddock speculation suggests that Saudi Prince HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud is putting pressure on him.

So instead of his own presence, Rossi is looking at the potential of adding another front runner, with Vinales, with whom he has been at Yamaha since 2017, possibly fulfilling that profile, according to GPOne.

However, this would raise the conflict that VR46 is deviating from its ethos of developing Italian talent in MotoGP to appease sponsors. In fact, Rossi started the team – which started in Moto3 and has since won a Moto2 title – as a branch of his VR46 academy, which focuses on Italian youth to penetrate the Spanish dominance of the feeder categories.

Originally it was expected that Marini and Marco Bezzecchi would occupy the spots if Rossi didn’t compete, but it appears that the Saudi supporters have put their hearts on at least one seasoned driver.

Why Maverick Vinales Possibly Key to VR46 Racing’s Fortune

The rider’s choice can also make a difference in which standard of Ducati machines VR46 can get your hands on.

Ducati has already committed to deliver eight motorcycles in 2022 – the works team Pramac Racing, VR46 and Gresini Racing – but only the works team and Pramac are guaranteed to use GP22 motorcycles.

Should Vinales get on board, it would certainly bolster VR46 Racing’s offer to get their hands on at least a GP22, while the Spaniard would likely insist that it does should he sign on the dotted line.

While Aprilia is a more respected option in terms of full factory support, there has long been a belief that Vinales would be a more viable game on the Ducati.

Although it might offer him a path to the Ducati factory team, he has to compete with the form of Jack Miller, Pecco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco, as well as the prospect of Jorge Martin.