until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
There’s been something of a swapping of roles inside the factory Aprilia MotoGP garage at Austin this weekend.
Argentine Grand Prix race winner and usual Aprilia leader Aleix Espargaro has flipped positions with team-mate Maverick Vinales, five days after Espargaro scored that breakthrough win while Vinales finished seventh.
On Friday at the Grand Prix of the Americas, it was Vinales shining for Aprilia in second in practice one and seventh later, with Espargaro only eighth and 11th in the two sessions.
But, with Espargaro struggling badly last year at the Circuit of the Americas, crashing five times during the weekend and failing to finish the race, last week’s race winner and current championship leader expects to spend the Austin event learning from his team-mate as the pair continue to work together to improve Aprilia’s RS-GP machine.
It’s part of a two-fold change at Aprilia, as things finally fall into place within the team after years of hard work.
On one hand, Espargaro now finally seems to have some consistency on the opposite side of the garage, with good friend Vinales a welcome departure from the team-mate chopping and changing which defined his earlier career with the factory.
He was alongside Sam Lowes when he arrived in 2017, but Lowes’ two-year deal was scrapped after only the first season, with fellow British rider Scott Redding being brought in instead – only to then suffer the exact same fate.
Andrea Iannone was the third team-mate in three years for Espargaro, but his two-year tenure was brought to a halt when he was caught doping and subsequently banned for four years.
He was replaced for the early part of 2020 by test rider Bradley Smith, who was then swapped out for the final races of the year by fellow tester Lorenzo Savadori, who started the 2021 season racing with Espargaro only for Vinales to then take over for the end of the year after his Yamaha deal dramatically imploded.
And while Vinales has become well-established in the box in the succeeding six months, he’s still been finding his own feet as he adapts from an inline four engine at Yamaha to a V4 at Aprilia, a process that’s finally coming to fruition in time to aid not just himself but also Espargaro.
“It’s always good to have a strong partner,” Espargaro said when asked by The Race about the changing picture with his team-mates.
“In my years in Aprilia, I’ve got used to being stronger. To do my job, and to always try to help my team-mates, help them to be closer, because until the moment we are fighting for a championship I think it’s better for two riders to push together to help develop the bike and be strong than one alone.
“Finally now I have a good team-mate, who is fast and who I have a good relationship with. We can talk, we can be open, and this is very good.
“I won in Argentina, but believe me – I am very humble. I know that he will be very strong here, so I’ve analysed his data a lot.
“He did that in the previous races to me so now I’ll do that and try to improve as much as I can.
“I’ll ask him for some tips if I need them, because it’s only race four and we have to try and score the maximum points possible.
“I checked after Argentina how the Aprilia was in the standings of the championship – but Maverick also checked it and he’s very happy to see that we have many points in the championship.
“We are a good team and this circuit is one of his favourites and one of my worst so I’ll try to use him as much as I can!”
That’s not something that the other side of the garage is too upset about, either, with Vinales – as predicted by Espargaro – equally happy to work with him to ensure that the project continues to make steps in the right direction.
However, while he’s happy with the team effort, he’s also pretty certain of something else – given the pace of his team-mate as he absolutely dominated last weekend’s race at Termas de Rio Hondo, Espargaro won’t need much help.
“I don’t think Aleix will be far [away],” Vinales said when asked about their positions by The Race.
“He will be fighting for the front row or the second row, and he will be fighting for the race, because the bike is working quite well.
“From my side I just need to understand a little bit more how to be consistent, because with a used tyre I can be super-fast but with a new tyre I struggle a little bit more.
“It is very important to have good relations because it makes the team better, and especially with Aleix we work pretty hard together.
“I think all the team is in harmony, which is very nice to see, and this is the way to improve.
“I don’t think that after what Aprilia achieved in Argentina we have to relax. We have to keep on the same mentality, keep with the same focus and keep working, because the way to build up a consistent bike is to push every day at your maximum.
“Actually, that’s going well and we are always making steps forward. Little steps, but always forward.”
Austin was a disaster for Aprilia when MotoGP last visited less than six months ago, with the severe bumps which plagued the race taking their toll in particular on Espargaro, who was Aprilia’s only rider as Vinales remained at home with his family following the tragic death of his cousin Dean while racing in the World Supersport 300 series.
But, with a substantially different machine for 2022 and a better feeling from the bike, the pair were able to enjoy a strong day at the Texan circuit to finish up seventh and 11th: not stunning results compared to last week’s performances but nonetheless a good start to what promised to be a difficult weekend.
When asked where the new bike feels better than the new one, Espargaro joked: “Even in the pit garage! It’s another story – but it’s not really fair to compare.
“I’m a little bit faster, the bike is a lot different, we have new tarmac, and it’s not easy to make a comparison.
“But I remembered last year a lot of sessions trying to go under 2m06s, crashing a lot, and only doing one lap all weekend under 2m05s.
“This year I was able to do many laps in 2m03s, alone, with a medium tyre, with good pace, with no mistakes.
“This track is not good not just for the Aprilia but for Aleix: I’m not good here, I don’t ride well, it’s not my style with a lot of corners in first gear where you have to completely stop the bike. I’m not competitive managing these types of corners.
“So it’s not just the bike it’s me, and this is why I’m super happy to be this competitive on day one.”
