Things are looking good for Maverick Vinales – which is perhaps a surprise given the topsy-turvy 2021 MotoGP campaign that the former factory Yamaha rider experienced, after parting ways with his team in the middle of the season.
But after finding a new home at Aprilia, and looking happy for the first time in quite a while, he’s starting the 2022 season in a good place.
“I’m really happy, honestly, because somehow I regained the motivation, the passion for the bikes, which is very important,” Vinales insisted in an exclusive chat with The Race. “It’s the fuel that gives you the energy to continue. I still have a lot to give and a lot that I haven’t given, so it’s very important for me. Right now I’m taking this challenge at what I think is the right moment to take it, to wake up and to keep pushing.”
That’s far removed from the mood that we came to expect of him at Yamaha even while enjoying success. He cut a dejected and petulant figure in the winners’ enclosure at Assen last year, after finishing second to then team-mate Fabio Quartararo, suggesting just how tough things had become for him at the manufacturer.
But in a happier place since his move to Aprilia – a switch that ultimately worked out for everyone involved – it’s clear that Vinales is going into the new season better mentally prepared than he has been.
“I’ve changed my priorities a lot,” he admitted. “When you have a family, you don’t think about tomorrow – you think about the long term. You can’t just think day by day. Before I thought a lot like this, living life as it was, without thinking too much about the future or how I would achieve my reality. It’s nice to win, but I want to feel something more.
“I want to feel a team around me, and that’s why I moved. I moved to have all that atmosphere, that passion, and especially because I think when you go to a place where everyone is hungry, it makes you go even harder.”
There’s still work to be done before he satisfies that hunger for success though. Adapting to a radically different V4-powered bike during the latter stages of the 2021 season, Vinales showed flashes of genius, including a strong performance at Misano that hinted at podium potential but was nixed by a poor qualifying position.
And while it’s all steps in the right direction, it’s clear that he’s trying his best not to get too far ahead of himself until he feels like he’s finally finished adapted his style to suit the RS-GP and not the M1.
“At this point it’s hard to say how much is left to find,” the 27-year-old said, “because as a rider I still need to get used to the bike. It’s a completely new thing. The behaviour, everything, is completely different, and every track I got to is completely new. I feel like a rookie, but I think we’re making good steps and we’re preparing well for the next season, which is the main goal. We’re sacrificing a little bit now, but I think it’s for a very important main reason.
“Even if the results aren’t amazing or we can’t see really fast laps, we can see the potential. I can feel it, and that’s one of the most important things. If you jump onto a bike and you don’t feel the potential, it’s difficult. But as soon as I got onto the Aprilia, I felt something, and we’re trying to investigate it now.
“But it’s good. At Misano, a track I like a lot, we were strong. It was a shame to start 19th, because starting on the second row we would have been able to make the podium. That’s amazing for what was only the second race with a new bike.
“Still I need to push much more, because I’m far away from the limit of the bike, but you have to feel good. When you go to work, if you don’t feel well then it doesn’t make sense. Right now, I have a big challenge in front of me for sure, because I’ve been used to different things. But it’s nice to grow up, to improve yourself in this process.”
And while he’s still understanding his potential, he’s not getting carried away with bold predictions either. But one thing is clear: so far, the nine-time race winner has fully adapted his attitude, if not his riding style, from reigning champion Yamaha to underdog Aprilia.
“It’s difficult to say what would be a good year,” Vinales conceded. “It depends how well we work during the pre-season, because if everything works well then you can aim very high. There’s no reason why we can’t win, because if you take my potential and the potential of the bike and they are a good match, then we can do great things. But there is a lot of work to do. That’s why I say we’re sacrificing something now to be stronger later.
“I don’t really know where we can be, but I’m not telling myself that I need to be here or I need to win. I want to just let it flow and see where we end up. It’s not a different way from the past, but I don’t want to get down if we don’t win [the season opener] in Qatar. This is the difference now.
“We’re building something, and to go to Qatar with the mentality of winning is wrong. We need to go thinking that we’re going to be there every race. To be strong all season, not just one race.
“Right now my mind is on having a project and to go with it to extract my maximum potential. As soon as I can achieve that, I will be happy.”
