Maverick Vinales arrives at the Jerez Circuit in an amazing moment. In Austin the Spanish rider achieved his long-awaited first victory in a long race with Aprilia, thus becoming the first to win with three different manufacturers in the MotoGP era (after doing so with Suzuki and Yamaha).
The driver from Roses is therefore very motivated for the first home race of 2024, eager to continue on the path of the great results already seen in Portimao, with the victory in the Sprint. This Thursday, during the riders' official press conference, Vinales explained how he is experiencing these days after the victory and what he expects for Jerez.
“Obviously, repeating Austin's result in Jerez is something we dream of,” began Maverick. “It would be fantastic, but we have to be realistic and intelligent. Obviously not every weekend will be like the one in Austin. But the important thing is to be there, fighting every day to be in the top positions. Trying to get the best performances with our bike “.
“Talking about Jerez, which is a circuit that the Spanish riders know well, it is a great challenge. We want to continue fighting for the top positions. On this circuit I don't see any negative points for our bike, so we have to be competitive and maintain the calm, to be able to be at the level of Austin and Portimao. Then there will be the tests, so it will be a very busy weekend,” he continued.
Viñales was then asked about his future in Aprilia and the latest rumors that Marc Marquez would be in the orbit of the Noale manufacturer. The Catalan explained that he had not heard this rumor and that he is still too early to think about it, because he is focused on continuing to grow with the Italian company.
“I hadn't heard this rumor. Hearing it means we're doing a good job. I see it more in Ducati, but that's good. It's too early to think about it. I think each race will put me in a better position to be able to, I'm not saying look for something better. different, but show myself stronger. We must continue to develop, try to be strong as a team and believe we can do something bigger, like in Austin.”
“The last thing I want to think about is changing something. I just focus on work. There are good challenges in this paddock, there are challenges that motivate all the riders, but in Austin we made history. I feel something inside me that it's wonderful for Aprilia. I feel this victory with a lot of emotion”, he explained, recognizing the opportunities that the paddock offers, but thinking of Aprilia.
“I'm not in a hurry to resolve my future. Maybe Massimo Rivola is in more of a hurry than me, but I'm not in a hurry. I want to wait, see what the other riders do. At the moment I'm 29 years old, I'm stronger than ever, I feel young. And I still have a lot of time ahead of me. What I want is to be here, present and focused, because I want to achieve the best performances race by race, I don't want to think about the future, I just want to enjoy it”, he continued, looking towards his future in MotoGP.
Regarding what the Andalusian weekend means for him, he explained: “The peculiarity of Jerez for the Spanish riders is that it is the first race with the home fans, it's a great boost. You always want to get the best results. I have some good memories, I won my first race here in 125cc in the Spanish championship and also in Moto3, but I've never done it in MotoGP, so it's a great challenge.”
Furthermore, speaking of Jerez, Vinales analyzed how the track can be positive for the RS-GP and its strengths, with areas such as turns 11, 12 and 13: “The way I approach the weekend is to try not to losing the maximum where we have difficulties, and trying to gain the maximum where we are strong. In Portimao, in the last corner, or in Austin, in the fast zone, we have this ability and we can push the bike to the limit. At the moment we are a little 'stronger than our competitors, but they are also strong in other areas.”
“Jorge Martin, for example, is able to do the stop and go sections very well, especially in the slower corners. It's something I always look at and try to improve my style in those corners. Because if I'm able to reduce the gap in the slower corners, I can gain more in the faster corners. This is my goal for Jerez. Then the bike is good in the fast corners, but the truth is that now it goes very fast in all sectors don't waste time on 180-degree turns,” he said.
Finally, he praised the excellent work done with the run-off areas compared to last year: “In Jerez they did an incredible job increasing the run-off areas, in many corners, where last year we asked to do so. they did it very quickly, so it's great news and we feel much more confident,” he concluded.
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