The next steps in the rebuilding of a stalled MotoGP career

Unsettled. That would be the best word to describe the last week in the world of MotoGP. Andrea Dovizioso returned to action with Petronas SRT last weekend at Misano, replacing Franco Morbidelli, who in turn has begun life as a factory Yamaha rider. Amid all of that came news of new factory deals for both riders and the announcement of the (mysterious) new team Dovizioso will race for next year.

All of this upheaval at Yamaha is a direct result of Maverick Vinales’ decision to quit the factory squad a year into his current two-year deal, before he was ultimately ejected in August after a major fallout in Austria in which he tried to damage his M1’s engine in the Styrian Grand Prix as frustration got the better of him.

For all those who work in MotoGP, all of the busiest days over the past month have been courtesy of Vinales. Thanks for that, Maverick.

However, Vinales’ sudden Yamaha departure and joining Aprilia has been one of the most intriguing subplots in MotoGP for some time. So, again, thanks for that, Maverick.

The nine-time MotoGP race-winner made his debut on the Aprilia at a two-day private test at Misano ahead of his debut proper at the Aragon Grand Prix. Qualifying 19th and finishing the race 18th, they weren’t results to shout home about. Neither was 10th and 13th at Misano, when you consider who it is those results are attached to.

But results aren’t really the point of Vinales’ early Aprilia run before his full-time bow in 2022. Aprilia, wisely, saw an opportunity to essentially extend Vinales’ pre-season preparations to include the final six rounds of 2021, giving him the rare-as-hen’s-teeth chance to understand the RS-GP under race weekend conditions – something impossible to do during testing.

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Photo by: Team Gresini

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After just a week as an Aprilia rider, Vinales has already begun to see the work ahead of him is massive – but that the foundations he stands on are far more solid than many gave his Yamaha-to-Aprilia move credit for initially.

“Well, honestly this weekend we learned a lot,” he said when asked by Autosport at Misano to evaluate his first week with Aprilia. “It’s clear that we have to keep working because it’s clear I don’t feel very comfortable on the bike, especially in qualifying, and then with a full tank I have a few troubles during the race.

“However, the positive point of the bike is the tyres have a good grip. I mean, good consistency, which is very important. And the rhythm was good, so I’m quite happy. Wasn’t perfect but was quite good, so we keep running, understanding. I tried to ride in a different position on the bike during the laps to see what it does. So, I’m just trying to understand the direction to go faster and faster.”

"Every race I learn a little bit more, I learn the bike. 27 laps in a row gives you enough time to change the riding style, change the braking and I keep trying in the race different things" Maverick Vinales

The task Vinales faces in adapting to the RS-GP is fundamentally greater than many perhaps realise. Vinales spent four-and-a-half seasons on a Yamaha, and a further two in 2015 and 2016 on the Suzuki. Both are bikes built around an inline four-cylinder engine. It’s a motor that’s not as powerful as a V4, but is more compact, and as such the handling of the bike tends to be much sweeter. On an inline-four bike, corner speed is king: it’s all about getting into the corner and releasing the brake as early as possible to run sweeping lines through the corners.

It took Jorge Lorenzo the better part of a year-and-a-half to adapt his style to the Ducati in 2017 and 2018 having ridden a Yamaha since 2008.

On a V4 bike, the handling characteristics are much different. These bikes have to ‘V’ a corner. Essentially time is made up by braking as hard and late as possible, and getting on the gas as soon as possible to gain time. In layman’s terms, switching from an inline-four bike to a V4 bike is a bit like playing guitar right-handed all your life and then suddenly trying to play it left hand. It’s a difficult adjustment.

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Photo by: Team Gresini

As such, the area Vinales has struggled the most with so far is corner-entry. But coming to Misano, having already ridden the bike on the track at his test, did allow him to make a small step forward in this area.

But it’s a process. As soon as one problem gets somewhat under control, new ones pop up as he begins to push the bike more. Having been more competitive at Misano and sailing into Q2, Vinales was thrust into a position where he actually had to push a bit harder as a solid grid slot was on offer. He found the bike was “complicated” in time attack mode, and in the race also found he had more troubles with a full fuel load.

“Right now, I feel that the bike is very nervous, especially in the first laps,” he explained. “And then when you start to push, it starts to move a lot. So, yeah, there’s a few things that we need to correct, and that when we correct it the lap time is going to go right down. But right now, we are learning, I’m learning. Every race I learn a little bit more, I learn the bike. 27 laps in a row gives you enough time to change the riding style, change the braking and I keep trying in the race different things.”

To be fair to Vinales, at Misano team-mate Aleix Espargaro felt his Aprilia wasn’t very competitive, was very unstable and didn’t have a lot of grip – something he suggested has always been a problem at the San Marino GP venue for the RS-GP.

Analysing Vinales’ first two races with Aprilia as a whole, it’s clear he is making significant strides. Across the first three practice sessions at Aragon, he found 2.398s from FP1 to FP3. In qualifying he found 0.025s more. His 1m47.764s was 0.809s slower than Espargaro in sixth and 1.442s off poleman Francesco Bagnaia. In the race he was 26.6s off the win and 17.3s off Espargaro in fourth, while his best lap was 1.076s off the best.

At Misano, his lap time gain from FP1 to Q2 was much less as he started with an FP1-topping 1m32.666s and qualified 10th with a 1m32.121s. But the lap time gains should get smaller as he better adapts to the bike anyway. His Q2 lap was 1.056s off another record-smashing lap from Bagnaia, but he was just 0.184s adrift of Espargaro in eighth. In the race he took the chequered flag 21.2s from the win and was just 5.56s behind Espargaro, while his fastest lap was only 0.658s off the best.

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Photo by: Team Gresini

So, his gaps to the front and to his team-mate have shrunk considerably from race to race and his positions have improved significantly in both qualifying and the race. That’s why, ultimately, he remains content with his decision to move away from Yamaha and commit his future to Aprilia.

“Yeah, I’m satisfied,” he replied when asked by Autosport at Misano if he felt he’d still made the right decision to come to Aprilia. “It’s a new challenge, sure it’s a very different challenge. It’s brought me out of my comfort zone for sure because it’s a totally different bike, so it’s more difficult to ride and to keep doing better positions. However, we started [at Aragon] 27 seconds [from the victory], today 21s. We improved step by step, and this is the most important point.”

All being well, he’ll have understood the bike enough to come into 2022 focused fully on the task Aprilia has entrusted with him

He added: “I feel my potential with this bike can be much higher, in terms of the bike has more power and I can stop the bike better. Still there are points where I don’t understand the bike, so I need laps.”

And more laps is what he can enjoy from now till the end of the year. At the time of publishing, Vinales will be into day two of the in-season test at Misano and will have four more rounds at quite varied venues – Circuit of the Americas, Misano, Algarve and Ricardo Tormo – before the two-day post-season Jerez test in November.

All being well, he’ll have understood the bike enough to come into 2022 focused fully on the task Aprilia has entrusted with him – to take the RS-GP to the top step of the podium.

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Photo by: Team Gresini