Maverick Vinales has mirrored on an odd quirk of his tenure with Aprilia in MotoGP, noting that the “second a part of the season was very tough” at all times for the RS-GP.
The Spaniard joined Aprilia within the latter levels of the 2021 season following his acrimonious cut up with Yamaha, and spent three full campaigns with the Italian model to the top of 2024.
Vinales achieved his first and solely grand prix win on the RS-GP in 2024 on the Americas GP, having additionally proven robust within the earlier spherical in Portugal.
Nevertheless, he later admitted that neither he nor Aprilia understands fairly why they have been so quick at that time of the championship.
Vinales famous that America wasn’t the one time he felt his finest on the Aprilia, however commented that in his years there the RS-GP’s type at all times slumped within the second half of a 12 months.
“I had a couple of races the place I had an excellent feeling,” he stated final month in Barcelona.
“Le Mans ’23, simply I crashed. However I believe that race may very well be one other win, for positive. And a few others the place the sensation was actually good.
“The bike confirmed nice potential in some components of the championship, however one thing I really feel that was repetitive in my years in Aprilia was the second a part of the season was very tough for all of the Aprilias.
“So, obscure as a result of the tracks are usually good for us. However whenever you arrive into the second a part of the championship, it was at all times tough.”
Within the first 10 rounds of the 2024, the manufacturing facility Aprilia squad managed three dash wins, a grand prix victory and cracked the highest 5 on Sundays 4 instances.
Within the final 10 rounds, it managed simply two dash podiums and one prime 5 in a grand prix because it slid to 3rd within the constructors’ standings behind KTM – whom Vinales joins in 2025 with the Tech3 crew.
Vinales theorises the rationale for this was that Aprilia started every season on the bike’s highest degree, whereas its rivals got here on higher later within the 12 months.
“I don’t know, as a result of we tried the whole lot,” he stated when requested what he thought triggered this pattern.
“We modified swingarms, chassis, the whole lot to attempt to perceive what was happening.
“However possibly the concept I’ve is that we began on the most and the others have been a little bit bit battling the brand new bike after which they made the following step.”
