Maverick Vinales is starting to really enjoy the situation with Aprilia and today he showed best how his adjustment process is going in the right direction. Today the Spaniard finished a race that he had almost completely experienced in a comeback in 8th place and very close to his teammate Aleix Espargarò.
A really remarkable result that is useful from a moral point of view and that confirms the correct path that Top Gun is taking on the Noale machine. Aleix knows this bike and the entire Aprilia project well and it means a lot to Vinales to be able to drive so close to him, who knows he has made a big step forward in the learning process since he first competed at the RS-GP The first stage was driven in Misano.
“When you start in the middle of the group it’s always difficult, I have to admit that I haven’t gotten used to it at all and I hope that I don’t have to get used to it during those phases – Maverick joked – it’s difficult for me finding where to get past the opponents, I always lose a lot of time. At least we made a nice setup change on the bike today that worked very well for me. We use the races as tests and I’m happy with the solution we found today because in the second half of the race I was very strong for the conditions we had. We keep working, I know that we will arrive step by step. These top 10 give me confidence that I haven’t made any mistakes and I think I’m on the right track. “
Savadori would have brought a hybrid bike to Portimao by 2022. Are there any clues behind this bike?
“I am very sorry for what happened to Lorenzo Savadori and I am very sorry that I cannot test the innovations that he should have tried out in Portimao. I am now registered as an Aprilia regular driver and not as a wildcard, so I cannot bring some technical innovations into the race (Which gives us the impression that the RS-GP 22’s aerodynamic package will be different, Ed.). I also asked Rivola because I thought I could do it, but nothing works! A big hug for Lorenzo in the meantime, I hope he will recover soon, it was a real shame “.
At one point you were very close to Aleix, why didn’t you attack him?
“I didn’t really get a chance to overtake Aleix because I lost too much time behind Marini and I wasn’t behind Aleix early enough to try to build a pass, however In the end, it doesn’t matter that much, I don’t focus on getting better than him. I focus on my feelings on the bike, on the work we do. I can feel the potential that I have on this bike because although I am not feeling well, I can end up being second or third on the list of the fastest laps. This means that while I’m not comfortable, I am fast, so I can’t wait to see where I’m going when I’m comfortable on the bike. We need more steps in the braking area, but I’m getting closer. “
Do you find it difficult to make a lot of setup changes just before the race?
“I have to learn a lot in a couple of laps every time. I often use a slightly different set-up in the race, so it is difficult for me to get out on the track and immediately go to the limit. I think I could have been a lot further up the front in this race, but on the first laps I lost about ten seconds or more, otherwise I would have finished a lot further up the front. It is clear that I am making progress, even if it is true that we have been to Misano, where a lot of drivers have done a lot of laps and everyone is fast, but the others are also in the same shape and I felt very strong today. At Portimao I think I’ll do a little more, I think I could have done the first three or four from the first two rows today.
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