MotoGP British GP

Vinales “never” doubted Aprilia MotoGP move following Silverstone podium

Maverick Vinales says he “never” doubted his move to Aprilia from Yamaha would pay off after he scored his second-successive podium of 2022 in the MotoGP British Grand Prix.

Lewis Duncan

Lewis Duncan

Edited: Aug 9, 2022, 9:37 AM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Vinales acrimoniously split with Yamaha following last year’s Dutch GP, before an attempt to intentionally damage his M1 in the Styrian GP led to the Japanese marque ousting him with immediate effect.

He signed a deal to join Aprilia from the Aragon GP onwards and scored his first podium on the RS-GP at Assen in June before going one better last weekend at Silverstone when he narrowly missed victory in second.

Vinales’ initial races on the Aprilia were a steep learning curve and he struggled to regularly break into the top 10 prior to the Catalan GP, all while teammate Aleix Espargaro regularly stood on the podium.

Asked at Silverstone if he ever doubted his Aprilia move prior to his latest purple patch, Vinales replied: “Never. I believed a lot in this project. I believe a lot and I believe a lot in myself.

“So, I always thought it was a matter of time, a matter of working.

“We know we have the potential to be in the front fighting in the races, as we’ve shown in the previous events.

“And our focus is in ourselves. Still I’m not at the maximum with the bike, with the tracks, so I just keep riding, keep believing and try to be focused on the correct things.”

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Vinales came within half a second of beating Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in Sunday’s British GP, but said his runner-up spot was a “fantastic result” for him and Aprilia.

And though he has “the eye on the victory”, Vinales says he must “keep my feet on the ground” across the second half of this season as he continues to adapt to the Aprilia.

“Well, I’m happy but I have the eye on the prize,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com how long before finishing runner-up would start to grate on him.

“I have the eye on the victory because we believe in that.

“But [I’m keeping my] feet on the ground, second is a fantastic result for us, we came a long way.

“I started the season without the results I expected, and step by step we are building up the good mood, the good confidence and this is what we are looking for.

“With Aprilia we are working in a good way and our mentality is to build up a strong team and strong bike to fight in every race, every track – not just a type of track.

“It seems like that [is happening]. Since the Montmelo test when I found a better feeling with the bike, I’m able to be in the podium.

“So, I’m very happy and very pleased about the job we are doing.”

Read Also:

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Bagnaia grateful for British GP advice from MotoGP legends Rossi, Stoner

Next article MotoGP announces 2023 pre-season test dates

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Lewis Duncan



MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed

MotoGP

MotoGP

MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed



A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?

MotoGP

MotoGP

German GP

A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?



What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?

MotoGP

MotoGP

German GP

What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?

More from

Maverick Viñales



Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”

MotoGP

MotoGP

Australian GP

Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”



Maverick Vinales “thinking every night” about future: “I haven’t given up yet”

MotoGP

MotoGP

Japanese GP

Maverick Vinales “thinking every night” about future: “I haven’t given up yet”



Maverick Vinales: “I don't understand what KTM wants from me”

MotoGP

MotoGP

Japanese GP

Maverick Vinales: “I don't understand what KTM wants from me”

More from

Aprilia Racing Team



Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now

MotoGP

MotoGP

Australian GP

10 h

Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now



Inside Jorge Martin’s recovery plan to get fit for Sepang MotoGP

MotoGP

MotoGP

Malaysian GP

15 h

Inside Jorge Martin’s recovery plan to get fit for Sepang MotoGP



The contrasting tactics used by Ducati and Aprilia in MotoGP 2026 title fight

MotoGP

Japanese GP

The contrasting tactics used by Ducati and Aprilia in MotoGP 2026 title fight

Latest news



Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 3 h

Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins



How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 3 h

How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026



Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

3 h

Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium



Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship

ARCA

ARCA ARCA 5 h

Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship

Feature

Discover prime content



MotoGP riders could get what they want, and fast, if only they would stand together

MotoGP

Indonesian GP

By Richard Asher

MotoGP riders could get what they want, and fast, if only they would stand together



Five things we learned from MotoGP's brutal Indonesian Grand Prix

MotoGP

Indonesian GP

By Richard Asher

Five things we learned from MotoGP's brutal Indonesian Grand Prix



The contrasting tactics used by Ducati and Aprilia in MotoGP 2026 title fight

MotoGP

Japanese GP

By Rachit Thukral

The contrasting tactics used by Ducati and Aprilia in MotoGP 2026 title fight



Five things we learned from MotoGP Japanese GP after tyre drama

MotoGP

Japanese GP

By Rachit Thukral

Five things we learned from MotoGP Japanese GP after tyre drama

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe