“I wasn’t treated well in the past” - but Vinales happier than ever at Aprilia
After finishing third in the Catalan MotoGP sprint, Vinales led more than half of the grand prix as he came within a second of victory.
Had he held off teammate Aleix Espargaro then the Spaniard would have secured his first win for Aprilia, however, Espargaro proved too strong once again.
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Vinales, who has had a great relationship with Espargaro for many years, something that has also been true about his time with Aprilia, admitted he needed to be convinced to join the Noale-based brand.
"Three years ago we were talking in his [Espargaro’s] motorhome and I was not sure whether to do it because it’s difficult to make a bet like that with a really good contract [at Yamaha].
"But I bet on myself, I bet on Aprilia. Of course, Aleix had a lot of weight because like he said, two good riders, two strong riders can do much more than one.
"Every day we are pushing the factory. You see how much we pushed the factory in Austria to bring something here for the start, and they did it.
"They had a good response. Step-by-step we can dream. That is so, so good."
Vinales left Yamaha in 2021 after his relationship with the Japanese manufacturer came to an explosive end.
A race winner with Suzuki and Yamaha, Vinales then joined Aprilia where he now feels like he is respected and valued.
"I want for people to understand that in this sport a rider has to feel the value," said Vinales. "In this team I feel like I have a lot of value, a lot of respect and this is very important because I wasn’t treated in a good way in the past.
"Today, this kind of feeling with the team - today is the best day of my career on a motorcycle.
"What I saw with the people, with myself, my wife, was unbelievable."
