Maverick Vinales will race with Aprilia Racing from the next round in Aragon, the Italian team have announced today.
Vinales, 26, was due to start at Aprilia from next season after signing a one-year contract last month following his midseason departure from Yamaha.
After testing the RS-GP at Misano on Tuesday and Wednesday, however, the team decided to give him the final six races of this season, allowing him to learn more about the bike ahead of the 2022 season.
Romano Albesiano, Technical Director of Aprilia Racing, said that “The decision to have Maverick on the track from Aragon is a direct result of the tests done in Misano.
“We are satisfied with Maverick’s immediately positive reactions, which demonstrated a good feeling both with the RS-GP and with the team and our work method.”
Vinales replaces Lorenzo Savadori on the bike, the Italian dropping down to become the Aprilia test rider. He will partner fellow Spaniard Aleix Espargaro, who took Aprilia’s first ever MotoGP podium at last weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Featured image by Box Repsol – 2021 MotoGP, Round 05, Le Mans, France, CC BY 2.0; no changes made.
