RiderTua.com – Even though Maverick Vinales was in 2nd place just behind Jorge Martin in qualifying, that didn’t spoil his mood. Even the Spanish rider appreciated his team’s work. “Today was very fast. I mean, Jorge’s and my time was amazing. With this bike I really enjoyed it. When I saw the time, it felt very good. I’m very proud of my team because what I experienced today with Aprilia was the result of work Portugal,” said Vinales.
While Jorge Martin assessed his current management and Ducati Desmosedici relatively wisely, Vinales looked much more emotional. Previously, the 28 year old rider had shown in a 1 hour practice ride with a series of best times that he was also a force to be reckoned with at the American GP. On his best lap, he was on track for quite a long time, but at the finish line the rider nicknamed Top Gun was behind Martin by 0.076 seconds.
Maverick Vinales : I’m proud of my team
Maverick Vinales was actually able to win the Portuguese GP but then his RS-GP suffered gearbox damage a few laps before the race ended. He also sees some opportunities for further improvement at GP Texas. “There are still 3 points that we need to improve. I had difficulty with the braking point before Turn 12, so I have to fix it. Second, with the soft rear tire the coordination with the brake is still not perfect. So it needs a little change and in the end I still see some potential in “The last sector. The fast and long corners are actually the bike’s strength, but we haven’t been able to gain the advantage here,” he explained.
The Aprilia factory rider added that but he had to be realistic, when talking about 0.1 seconds, these are small things. But with refinement and a little more risk, it will work. What remains unclear to him is the tires. Both compounds are very good and he still doesn’t know which one to use in the race.
Vinales is very confident for the two races on Saturday and Sunday as his bike’s starting behavior has improved significantly. “Today I made the best start here since I joined Aprilia. We have made progress. If I manage to be at the front, then I think with a little risk, I can lead at the start,” concluded Papa Nina.
With Aleix Espargaro in 6th place and the two trackhouse riders Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez in 11th and 12th, all RS-GP riders have good starting positions.
