10 MINS WITH
Maverick Viñales
What does Aprilia mean to you ?
I ' ve never been in the position to take out all my potential , and with Aprilia I have this feeling , and that ' s something that gives me a lot of motivation . After tough years , suddenly one team is taking you , giving you everything and giving you a chance to really show and prove what I can do , what I ' m able to do . I feel the speed , I feel the potential and I feel the confidence inside the team . If we ’ re able to take out the maximum , we are able to win .
How good is your relationship with Aprilia ?
Aprilia is listening and this is very important . They ’ re listening to what I say and the way I want to ride the bike . This is the kind of relationship that I was missing for a while , and this year I feel it . Last season , I already felt it , but this year with Manuel Cazeaux , I feel it even more . It ’ s fantastic to have that . Every time I come here , I feel protected , I feel the team believes in me and they know that I have the speed , and that I have the speed and the ability to become the rider to be fighting in the front .
Tell us about your team .
Working with Massimo [ Rivola ] is excellent . Honestly , I have an amazing relationship with him not only on the track , also outside . I know everything he does is to give me the best and this is an important feeling for a rider and also for a person . Also , I will mention Romano [ Albesiano ], the job he is doing is amazing and the bike is becoming better and better , more for my natural riding style , it ’ s a pleasure to ride the bike in a natural way . We have Manual Cazeaux now , who I think is one of the top three crew chiefs in the paddock , and he understands me very well and with him I see myself taking out all the potential , and that ' s something very important because every year I feel faster and faster and this season I ’ m honestly very fast .
Teamwork inside the box .
They try to give the riders the best . It ' s clear that if we are fast of course we need to look at the Championship and we need to look at the races . We need to understand who has the potential to win it . Last year , I worked so much for Aprilia and also , I gave a lot of times in Qualifying and tracks where Aleix [ Espargaro ] wasn ' t fast to follow me . We are working for Aprilia . It is something else . It ' s something bigger than us and it ’ s something we both know . Aleix brought me into this project to win with Aprilia so I think the best we can do is help each other , because we will become faster . Of course , I hope that Aleix will give me a hand when it ’ s time to do it . The good thing of Aprilia is that we are a team and our strongest point is that we are together . Aleix [ Espargaro ] has his place . He is the captain of the team . I ’ ve understood that since I ’ ve been at Aprilia , and I will not take his place . He is the captain , but I want to win , that ' s all !
What are your goals for the 2023 season ?
For me , honestly speaking , the goal of the season is to take out the maximum every day . It doesn ' t matter if it ' s Friday , Saturday and Sunday . I don ' t expect anything else other than that from my team because I ' m doing it every single day in my life . Of course , with that way to bring the opportunity to fight for the title , which is what we are looking for . We think we are stronger than we had expected in this part of the season , and this is fantastic because we can become even stronger .
50 | MotoGP™