Maverick Viñales was the only non-Ducati rider to win a main race in the 2024 MotoGP season. However, his Aprilia RS-GP 2024 did not live up to his expectations.
The Spaniard explained that the previous year’s version with limited updates focused on aerodynamics would have been ideal, believing it would have allowed him to fight for the top four spots:
– When I finished 2023 in Valencia, I only asked for two things: the start and the same bike. Because I loved that bike, but then in Sepang it was another story. That’s the only thing I regret, because I think that the 2023 bike with a bit more aero – just that, a bit more downforce – would be a bike to be in the top four, for sure. We knew the set-up, we knew everything. So, it would be just going to track.
When asked if he believes Aprilia went too far with changes to the bike for 2025, Viñales replied: ‘I don’t know. But when we figured it out, it was too late, so we couldn’t change’.