After a tough winter , and listless first race , he has shown aggression and calmness in spades in certain moments to sit sixth overall after eight races .
“ I said in the earliest laps of the test that I wasn ’ t feeling comfortable with the bike ,” Viñales said of his troubled preseason . “ I had a very strange crash in the last corner in Malaysia ( during testing ). So , I had no confidence with the new bike .
“ But we worked with the setting , the balance . Step by step I was feeling better . but in Qatar it was not enough . I was not riding it at the maximum . In Portimao we changed a bit the weight distribution on the bike and … now I have the same feeling as last year but obviously a bit better because of the improved aerodynamics .”
Viñales was so unlucky to miss a podium in the second race in Portugal when a mechanical failure let him down on the final lap . He then produced the best weekend of his career in Austin , when he took a sensational Sprint and feature race double .
2024 marks the third full season of the Viñales-Aprilia partnership . And the 10-time MotoGP race winner feels it took time for crew chief Jose Manuel Cazeaux , who joined from Suzuki for 2023 , to fully understand Aprilia ’ s RS-GP and mercurial rider .
“ It took one full year with my new crew chief to understand really the bike and what we needed . Now I feel really good with the bike . Stability is one of the key points of the new bike . And in the flowing part of the track , like section one or the three right-hand corners ( at COTA ) was where I was making the difference .”
The rider who is in his tenth MotoGP™ season has been in the news a lot recently . Viñales will sensationally switch to the Tech3 KTM team for 2025 , along with Enea Bastianini . The Austrian factory has high hopes for the Catalan . “ I ’ ve personally got a very strong connection with Maverick ,” said KTM ’ s Motorsport Director Pit Beirer . “ For him that human side , feeling at home and being given a good surrounding is super important . And then we all know he can do miracles .”
Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland | 79