Maverick Vinales: I have the feeling this year will be special

Maverick Vinales and Aprilia are out to prove that the disappointing Jerez MotoGP weekend was just a blip - the Spaniard heading to Le Mans believing it will be “one of the tracks where we will be strongest”.

After three victories in the four races before Jerez, including a perfect COTA double, Vinales and team-mate Aleix Espargaro were left 11th and 12th on the grid by a wet qualifying.

Vinales was briefly into a podium place in the Sprint before joining a long list of fallers on damp patches, then struggled to ninth in the Grand Prix. 

But at the Monday test, a fault was found with his Sunday bike, which he had switched to after the Sprint fall, and he finished in second place.

The #12 counts Le Mans as one of his favourite tracks, having claimed his first Grand Prix victory at the venue as a 125cc rider in 2011. 

That was followed by a Moto3 win in 2013 and a MotoGP victory (for Yamaha) in 2017.

“Le Mans is a track where I’ve always felt competitive,” said Vinales, whose 2023 French GP hopes ended in an early tangle with Francesco Bagnaia.

“I have the feeling that this year will be special because of the level we have reached and because of the way I feel on the RS-GP24.

“I think Le Mans will be one of the tracks where we will be strongest. I’m arriving focused and motivated.

“The atmosphere in France is fantastic and so is the circuit. I can’t wait to see the Aprilia fans in the stands!”

Vinales is now fifth in the world championship, while team-mate Aleix Espargaro has slipped to 8th after his Qatar Sprint heroics.

Espargaro, who says he will decide his MotoGP future over the next few rounds, stood on the Le Mans podium for Aprilia in 2022.

“I’m happy to be going to Le Mans, a legendary circuit where braking is fundamental,” Espargaro said. “The weather is always complicated, so it will be a challenge from that perspective.

“It’s a track that I like, where I finished on the podium two years ago and in P8 and P5 last year. I can’t wait to get there and to begin reaping the results we deserve.”

Aprilia is the only MotoGP factory yet to officially confirm any riders for 2025.