Aleix Espargaro expresses confidence in Maverick Viñales’ abilities as the pair enter their second year as teammates

Aleix Espargaro applauds teammate Maverick Viñales and highlights the importance of a satellite team.

Aleix Espargaro

Maverick Viñales is all set to enter his second full year as Aleix Espargaro‘s teammate. The 28 year old Spaniard joined the Aprilia Racing Team part-time in 2021 following his suspension from former team, Yamaha. Viñales was originally hired on a 1 year contract. Following consistent performances and 2 podiums in his first year for the team, he was offered a 2 year extension.

Viñales started racing motorbikes aged 8. He won several domestic titles before making his 125CC World Championship debut in 2011. Viñales won his first race in Le Mans and finished 3rd in the standings, he also collected the Rookie of the Year award. He moved up to the Moto3 World Championship in 2012 and won the title in 2013 with KTM. He competed in Moto2 in 2014 and again finished 3rd in the standings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNg8cJlxu0

His call up to MotoGP came in 2015. Since his premiere category debut, Viñales has collected 9 wins and 13 poles. Viñales joined Yamaha in 2017 and continued with the team until mid season in 2021. In June 2021, Viñales made the shock announcement that he had terminated his contract with Yamaha and will not complete the full term. Viñales made his debut for Aprilia at the 2021 Aragon Grand Prix and has since signed a contract extension, similar to Espargaro‘s, which will see him race for Aprilia till the end of 2024.

“He is a very talented rider,” Aleix Espargaro optimistic about Maverick Viñales

In a recent interview, Aleix Espargaro expressed his optimism in the Aprilia pairing and commended his teammate. ”I have no doubt that Maverick Viñales will perform great in his second full year with Aprilia, as he is a very talented rider. That will help me to be better.” he said. Espargaro also shared his enthusiasm of having a satellite team, a novelty for most factory teams. “The fact that we also have a satellite team this year is important, above all for our engineers. If we manage to make good use of the satellite team, it will be very valuable for us.”

Notably, Aprilia were a force to be reckoned with during the 2022 season, finishing 3rd behind Ducati and Yamaha. The rider pairing will be looking to make amends and elevate Aprilia in to a title worthy team. It will be interesting to see how the chemistry between the 2 pilots transforms as both may find themselves in the Championship hunt.

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Tags: Aleix Espargaro Maverick Vinales

#About the Author

Varad Joshi

(940 Articles Published)

Varad is the Group Head for the Formula 1 and MotoGP divisions at FirstSportz. Having worked in motorsports for more than 2 years, he has a fair amount of experience working with privateer teams and as a rally official. Being a racer himself, Varad understands what goes through the minds of racing drivers and is able to capture that through his pieces. Being the athlete that he is, Varad is known for his national victory at the 2022 Red Bull Jumpstart Challenge. He is also a professional endurance cyclist, mountain biker and an action sports photographer making it clear that he loves to fully send it in life. An avid fan of Formula One and MotoGP, he has been into motorsport for almost a decade. He currently resides in Pune city. He has worked with some big names to bring Underground Car culture to India and also organises Formula One race screenings in Pune. When he’s not behind the laptop, you’ll find him on a bike trying to be the best out there.

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