Maverick Vinales will make his Grand Prix debut at the Aprilia RS-GP this weekend at the Motorland Aragon Circuit.
The Spaniard recently sidelined from the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action after missing just two Grand Prix weekends.
“I can’t wait to get back on track. The chance to do that right away is certainly important, especially with a view to preparing for the 2022 season.” Vinales said.
“I may not be 100% ready after just two days of testing, but to be on the track with the others and get things done. being able to compare it to Aleix [Espargaro], who is doing great things will help me improve my feeling with the RS-GP.” Vinales said.
The 26-year-old rider has no illusions about being able to participate right away at the front of the track.
Vinales and Aprilia see participation in the upcoming Grand Prix weekends as an excellent opportunity to prepare for the 2022 season and gain experience do in a racing environment. In short, a number of excellent test options under the most demanding conditions.
“The Aprilia staff is highly motivated. I noticed a lot of enthusiasm and the will to grow, which is just more motivation for me to jump right into the mix.” Vinales said.
A race winner for both Suzuki (1) and Yamaha (8), Vinales admitted he had been nervous ahead of his first encounter with a V4 engine.
“Honestly I went [into the test] without expectation, because you never know how the bike is going to react,” Vinales said.
“But I have to say that I was a bit nervous because I’d never tried a different [V4] engine.” he added.
Vinales will take the place of Lorenzo Savadori for the remaining Grand Prix weekends of the season. The Italian is currently still recovering from his ankle injury sustained in Austria and is therefore absent from Aragon.
However, once he has fully recovered, Savadori will race at the start a number of times this season via wildcard entry.
