Maverick Vinales has revealed he asked Aprilia to introduce only incremental updates to its MotoGP contender in 2024 instead of instigating a major overhaul.
The Noale-based brand debuted a heavily-revised version of the RS-GP at the start of the year with an increased focus on aerodynamics as it set about closing the gap to Ducati and KTM.
The strategy appeared to pay dividends when Vinales won the sprint race in the second round at Portimao and scored a double win next time out in Austin.
However, the Aprilia gradually faded out of competitiveness as the season wore on, with Aleix Espargaro’s success in the half-distance Barcelona race the only other time it achieved a victory in 2024.
Vinales thinks the Italian manufacturer could have benefitted from building on its proven 2023-spec bike, which won two grands prix in Espargaro’s hands, instead of taking a completely different direction this year.
“The thing is that when I finished 2023 in Valencia, I asked just two things: [race] start [improvement] and the same bike. Because I loved that bike,” Vinales said.
“But then in Sepang [for pre-season testing] it was another story. It's the only thing I regret.
“I think with the 2023 bike, [with] a little bit more aero, a little bit more downforce, it was the bike - I don't know whether to fight with Ducati - but to be top four, for sure. Because of consistency. We knew the set-up, we knew everything.”
Asked if Aprilia went too far with changes on its 2024 bike, Vinales said: “I don't know, but when we discovered it was too late. We could not change [it back].
He added: “I needed to ride all year with a bike that I didn't like.”
Aprilia was the only manufacturer to beat Ducati to victory in a grand prix this year thanks to Vinales’ success in the US Grand Prix. He and team-mate Espargaro were also the only non-Ducati riders to win a sprint in 2024.
However, Aprilia still finished behind KTM in third place in the manufacturers’ standings, as it could not match the consistency of its Austrian rival.
Vinales admitted that Aprilia still doesn’t have an answer as to why it was so quick on two tracks at the start of the year when its performance was flat elsewhere.
“What we really don't understand was Portimao and Austin,” he said. “Then obviously in some tracks I have been able to be good, but not like how it was at these two tracks.”
Vinales will join the Tech3 KTM team in 2025 on a two-year contract, pairing with Ducati exile Enea Bastianini.
It was Aprilia which gave Vinales a home after his tumultuous split with Yamaha in 2021, and ultimately helped him regain his form in MotoGP.
Asked to reflect on his time with the team, he said: “Obviously on the human side I'm very satisfied about my way in Aprilia.
“I discovered really good and passionate people, they were very warm from the beginning and until the end. So it's a really good sign. It means that we did a really good job.
“Technically speaking, there were things that of course were missing, especially this year. But we must be happy.
“Both parts fit each other [well] and at the end we achieved good results. Even in this period where it looks like we have one factory [Ducati] that is on the moon, we have been able to be on the front row, so we have been able to do good things.”
